Lucky Charm
by EngelCain
Summary: When Watanuki bites off more than he can chew, Doumeki makes a stupid decision. [Some hints of Doumeki x Watanuki]
1. Chapter 1

Pairing: Doumeki/Watanuki

Rating: Oh I don't know what's the hype of censorship this year.

Warnings: Old fic written somewhere before chapter 75, my fics after that contain too many spoilers for English xxxholic readers.

Disclaimer: Do I -look- rich?

Summary: Doumeki listens to his instincts, and right now they say Watanuki looks exhausted, but doesn't he always look tired to begin with? Maybe Doumeki has been staring too much?

AN: Written in another language originally, translated to English to share with bigger audience, might have errors. Kudos if you get an error, kudos and my firstborn if you get the language it was originally written in.

* * *

Lucky Charm

* * *

Doumeki believed the dark circles under Watanuki's eyes to be part of the boy's appearance, like his hair colour, his bad eyes and his complexion. It was something that belonged to him inherently and could not be changed. Well, Doumeki _supposed _it could be changed short-term, but the idea of Watanuki standing in front of the mirror pasting on the liquid powder like the girls in their school was something so ludicrous it made Doumeki cringe rather than laugh. No, the dark lines under his eyes were there to stay, whether they were wanted or not.

It did make Watanuki look more tired and annoyed than he was, in combination with the white skin and dark hair. The permanent scowl didn't help. Doumeki had often wondered if Watanuki was pureblood or not, and guessed the latter to be right. Watanuki was out of proportion for one race alone. At first sight he couldn't be more average, but his eyes were too big, with long eyelashes and a certain catlike quality to them. Not to mention their colour. Then there was the boy's skin. His unnatural pale skin that most definitely could do with some sunlight and added to the exotic yet unhealthy appearance. It was as if Watanuki was _made_ to roam around at night like the spectres he saw.

Doumeki was almost positive the term 'exotic' was correctly applied to that skinny frame screaming stress and malnutrition. Which was funny because Doumeki knew how much Watanuki loved to cook and eat and he also knew that using the word 'exotic' on a male classmate his own age was not advisable.

No, coming back to the dark circles -Doumeki didn't know why he gave the bags a more romantic name than they deserved- they were always present, whether Watanuki indicated, or rather, complained about being tired or not.

Watanuki did complain a lot about everything else, like now. The boy was complaining about the assignment that was due tomorrow but had in fact been given a month ago. Watanuki had forgotten about it, which was reasonable considering the events of this month, but 'I almost died' didn't count as an excuse in the classroom. So Doumeki listened to the rant while escorting the boy to Yuuko's shop. It was not a long walk and Doumeki knew the boy preferred him around even though he'd rather die than admit that.

Sometimes the trip took long though, because of Watanuki avoiding something that wasn't there, greeting thin air or looking over his shoulder, glasses reflecting the sunlight. Sometimes everything was fine. Today was particularly bad. Watanuki avoided the shadows and was more concerned with where he put his feet down than where he was walking.

"Can I play?" Doumeki asked.

"What?" Watanuki moved to Doumeki's left to circle the shadow of a building.

"Not touching the shadows."

"What?"

Doumeki went on.

"You must remember. It was a game when we were little. There was a song too, something about the shadows dragging you under if you stepped on them."

"This is not a game, Yuuko forbade me from stepping on shadows today"

"A warning, huh."

"Yes"

"Do you need help?"

The boy growled and made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "No, I don't, what I need is for you is to get off my back and let me concentrate."

"If you hold my hand you'll probably be fine with this amount of sunlight still out"

"I'm not touching you! I can manage just fine! Holding hands with you, honestly, what are people going to think!"

Doumeki listened quietly and patiently for the rest of the walk. Watanuki might look exhausted, he had plenty of energy when it came to yelling and shouting. It made Doumeki wonder sometimes if there was more to Watanuki than just communication with spirits. Something fascinated him about the boy's outbursts, silences and being. He seemed to have an unnatural energy around him that Doumeki could feel sometimes. Doumeki speculated this was because of his lineage and his upbringing in the shrine. Or, he thought, it was just the fact that he admired the idiot's ability to carry on with his million tasks as day.

* * *

"Hey kid, are you going to flat 4B?"

Doumeki thought it was fairly obvious, seeing as 4B was at the end of the hallway and all that was between him and flat 4B was the gruff looking man with a pipe in his mouth. Doumeki was tall, but this man was taller, and bigger and dirtier. For all the people featuring in Watanuki's rants, this man was surprisingly absent.

"Yes." Doumeki said.

The man took the pipe out of his mouth and pointed it over his shoulder.

"The brat isn't home, he never is, and when he is he keeps the whole damn block awake." That made Doumeki frown. "So kid, why are you here?" The man looked as if Doumeki was something nasty he just stepped in.

"We go to school together."

The man grunted, took a drag and exhaled the smoke through his nose.

"Tell him that I got 18 complaints about last night and the moment his term runs out he's out of here. This is no place for children anyway." He pushed past the boy, still muttering as he walked down the staircase.

Doumeki found himself alone in front of door 4B. It took some time until the heavy footsteps of the landlord faded away, all the while Doumeki kept staring at the little white plate on the wooden door. It was depressing to see Watanuki's name there, tying him to this building. The nameplate was shiny and clean. The numbers on the door where shabby, the door itself was shabby; it was a shabby building and quite a walk away from the shrine, Yuuko's shop and the school.

This was in a part of town Doumeki didn't feel comfortable walking around in. It occurred to him that he didn't know how much Watanuki actually got from the government, but it couldn't be much. And speaking of the idiot, why was he out at this time? Getting himself in trouble again?

Doumeki sat down with his back against the door. Maybe Yuuko had him running an errand on his day off. It was quite possible and it explained why the boy hadn't shown up in class today. Though not showing up in class usually meant that the idiot had found some creative way of hurting himself. Doumeki had volunteered bringing over the missed homework so that he could check up on the boy, because he probably had to anyway.

And then his backrest was gone and he was looking up at the ceiling. A ceiling with yellow stains showing leakage, a ceiling with chipped and bubbled paint. Watanuki's head appeared in the view, upside down, face flushed.

"You! Don't scare people like that! What were you doing anyway, sitting outside my door?"

Doumeki sat up and removed his shoes.

"I have your homework."

"Then knock on the door like normal people! Don't lurk outside and wait for me so you can give me a heart-attack!"

Doumeki got up and walked past the boy, shamelessly examining the living space of Watanuki's hot and stuffy apartment. It figured Watanuki was too poor to pay for something with storage space. The table was standing in the middle of the room, the futon was leaning against the wall. There were boxes and books, but no clutter and it had the definite homemaker's touch Watanuki was famous for. Still-

"It's small."

Watanuki slammed the door shut.

"Don't walk into other people's homes uninvited and then insult them!"

"It's clean."

"I said-"

"That wasn't an insult, here" Doumeki held out the papers he'd collected in class. The moment the other boy took them he wandered off to the small kitchen. Apparently Watanuki had been in the middle of cooking, the fish and vegetables unwrapped and cut up in neat piles on the counter, the rice-cooker was working. Otherwise it was spotless like he'd expected in some way or the other. Then he poked his head around the door of the small bathroom, also spotless if not a bit cramped. Doumeki turned back to the living room where the other boy was shaking his fist at him.

"Don't walk around my house like you own it!" the corners of Doumeki's mouth turned slightly upwards at the word 'house'.

"Not much space for walking around to begin with."

"Why you-"

"So, why weren't you at school today?" Doumeki asked.

"That's none of your business." Watanuki's reply was quick.

"I was starving around lunchtime, so I'm making it my business."

"Yuuko had me running an errand, now if you'll excuse me."

Doumeki knew a blatant lie when he saw one. And Watanuki might be an idiot, but Doumeki knew he wasn't that stupid. They both knew he was lying.

A bleep in the kitchen indicated the rice was done. The sound of Watanuki rummaging around interrupted the little stare-down Doumeki had with the door and made him focus on the stuffy living room again.

It was hot; the air smelled dusty and damp, as if the room hadn't been aired out for a long time. Doumeki pulled away the curtains and inspected the window; it looked fine, apart from the rust and lack of a good paint-job. There was a spirit-ward on the frame and windowsill as well, that made the fifth one he'd seen since he'd entered. That didn't make sense. Doumeki opened the window. The cool night-air was pleasant and he breathed in deep.

Five wards. That was a bit much; even considering Watanuki could actually see these things.

There was a clattering noise from the kitchen. Doumeki turned around to see Watanuki appear in the door, hand in front of his mouth. He looked around wildly for a moment before rushing over to the window, pushing Doumeki out of the way and closing it.

"Don't open the-" he started coughing, doubling over in that way that made alarm bells go off in Doumeki's head. He couldn't see, smell, feel or hear what the boy could but the way Watanuki's body always jerked and protested against the invisible menace made Doumeki feel unwell himself.

"Don't touch other people's stuff! Don't open the windows! You idiot!"

"Why don't the spirit wards work?"

Watanuki shuddered and took a deep breath. "I don't know."

"Are they actually coming inside?"

The boy shook his head. Doumeki peered out the window at the wall opposite.

"Are there any out there now? That you can see?" He didn't get an answer and when he looked up Watanuki was busy straightening his blouse.

"There are, that's why you keep the curtains closed." Doumeki mused.

"I like my privacy." Watanuki stated, still wiping at an invisible speck of dirt, ignoring the fact he had a brick wall as a view.

"How many?" Doumeki asked.

Watanuki shrugged, dropped the hem of his shirt and gave that look that made Doumeki want to do something, hit somebody, break something. That look. Watanuki's eyes with their unnatural colour were endlessly deep and a turmoil of emotions always lay just beneath the surface. A bit of melancholy a bit of grief, an unnatural dose of sadness, but most importantly the apathetic acceptance overshadowing all that. Watanuki had long accepted his 'fate' and that triggered so much raw anger in Doumeki he wondered if all those years of meditating with his grandfather had been for nothing.

Watanuki moved over and grasped the curtains, keeping his eyes on the window. "I haven't opened that curtain in a while, I tend to loose count with the way they all keep pushing at each other to get in, it gets on my nerves."

Doumeki didn't say anything, imagining what it would be like to have his peace violated in such a way. He leant even closer, nose almost touching the glass.

"I thought I had an effect on them, what are they doing now?"

"You're…upsetting them."

Good, Doumeki thought as he moved away so the boy could seal the place off again.

"Do you need my help?"

Watanuki sighed. "No I don't, it's fine, as long as some idiot doesn't barge in here and opens the windows."

Doumeki was about to retort when there was knocking on the door. Seeing as Watanuki made no effort to open it -and the other boy shot a glance that could silence the dead- Doumeki remained quiet. There was more knocking and some scratching and fumbling at the door before heavy footsteps echoed away into silence. Doumeki stood motionless, waiting for a sign. Eventually the shorter boy sighed and raked a hand through his hair.

"Why are you hiding from your landlord?" Doumeki asked.

Watanuki nearly fell over.

"Do you always have to be so blunt?"

Doumeki shrugged and observed the boy opening the door the slightest bit and quickly picking up a letter from the floor before shutting it. Without glancing at the contents of the envelope he binned it. Doumeki frowned.

"What?" The short boy blustered, as if feeling compelled to explain himself. "He wants me out of this place, but I don't have the money to move right now."

"Why?"

Watanuki looked at him blankly for a second. "Why? Because all my income goes either to Yuuko or the school."

"I meant, why does he want you gone?"

Watanuki made sure to turn his back to the other boy before starting his rant.

"Who knows? Probably because I don't have enough to worry about with that boozehound and her ridiculous demands, did you know tuition fees went up again? After the new year do you know how much I'd have to pay? This way it's better if I quit and don't go to high school at all! Just slave all day until I die, now- "Watanuki finished acting out his untimely death, "-did you want something because I am very busy."

Doumeki acknowledged for himself that he touched a tender spot when it came to money, also the idea of Watanuki having to drop out of school now because of finances was a surprisingly real threat, but that didn't clear up the matter of Watanuki lying through his teeth.

"Actually, I'm hungry."

"I am not feeding you!" Watanuki crossed his arms.

"I didn't mean that, I meant you come with me."

"I'm cooking." Watanuki motioned towards the kitchen with a big gesture that meant his was still upset.

"Leave it."

"Didn't I just tell you about my riches?"

"I'm paying" Doumeki replied.

"Off course you are, don't invite people if you don't pay!"

"I meant the food you're leaving."

"That's not the point."

"Just come with me, idiot."

Silence again. Always silence when Watanuki didn't want to say what was bothering him. But despite his protest he was cleaning up and turning off the lights. It was a small apartment, it was shabby, but Watanuki protected it and took care of it as if it was a shrine.

"It's dark." Watanuki's face was obscured by his hair as he put on his shoes. "There are more of them when it's dark"

These spirits directed everything in the smaller boy's life.

Doumeki didn't know where they were going, but he just wanted the boy out of this place, if only for a while.

"I'm here now, they don't touch you when I'm with you, right?"

"They better not, but if they do then you're useless and I won't have to cook you lunch anymore, so it's a win-win situation for me."

Still Watanuki looked shaken up as he put his coat on, following Doumeki through the cold night air. There were no complaints, a lot of looks over his shoulder, and he kept very close to Doumeki. So close, the boy noted as his arm was grabbed, that people would talk if they saw them.

* * *

Tbcontinued.

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Love, hate, confused, sequel worthy? Review or tell me in an email, you'll always get an answer to emails.

Cheers for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Summary: Doumeki _is _staring. But he has to, because if he doesn't, nobody else will. More blink and it's gone Doumeki x Watanuki

AN: Thank you for voting, with an overwhelming majority it has been decided: this is the attempt at a sequel.

One of the reasons I am having trouble with this is because

I need to keep my mouth shut about all the good stuff (volume 7, 8 and onward), which means: I'm having a really hard time writing them before the 'good stuff''. So before I knew it, it ran away with me, this story did. It turned into something completely different. Sorry about that.

* * *

Lucky Charm

* * *

It was easy to notice the changes in Watanuki's moods; the boy didn't communicate with his words, though they were there in abundance and with great empathy. Watanuki communicated with his body, using a wide variety of motions with his hands and great deal of facial expressions. It was easy to read Watanuki's mind and disposition and act accordingly, which in Doumeki's case meant: ignore altogether. As long as he was screaming bloody murder he would be fine.

It was a lot harder, however, to notice the _important_ changes in Watanuki without the trained eye. Chin leant on one hand, pencil in a loose grip, one elbow on the table for support, the black curtain of hair and the sunlight on his glasses masking the fact his large cat-like eyes were most definitely closed: Watanuki _looked _like he was fine. He looked like he was paying attention, apart from the fact he wasn't making notes; but then he rarely did in Japanese Literature since it was one of his better subjects. Doumeki understood that he only saw all this because he was perhaps more focussed on the boy than on his textbook, but to him it was pretty obvious.

Watanuki was fast asleep.

Had been for the majority of this class too. None of the students around him noticed, not even the girl sat next to him. Doumeki wasn't students however; he'd learned a thing or two in his years of running after this boy.

Watanuki's shoulders, for example were less tense, his breathing was steady instead of the irregular pattern it usually held. Doumeki wondered if the boy didn't suffer from a form of asthma, or maybe anaemia. He'd actually been meaning to ask for some time, but suggesting any one of Watanuki's problems might be medical was not something he'd try again.

Twenty-four.

It wasn't a game, Doumeki realized, but he couldn't stop himself from keeping score of how many times a teacher looked in Watanuki's direction and didn't notice. There were only so many times someone could not be discovered napping in school, but if Watanuki held up for another five or so he'd have an amazing personal record.

Still, falling asleep in class was a dire sign to Doumeki. If anything Watanuki was over-mature when it came to education -and anything that didn't involve a normal teenager's life really. Watanuki would never fall asleep in class: it would be bad for his performance. If he didn't keep his grades high he would end up in a lower class and get less money. Doumeki wasn't one for profanities, but he could think of some now.

The lunch bell rang, but the bustle of thirty odd students leaving the classroom at the same time didn't stir Watanuki out of his sleep.

Doumeki took his time packing his bag before he sauntered over and shook the boy.

"Oi, you can't sleep in school."

Watanuki sighed and muttered something. The other boy leant in closer.

"What?"

"Mokona can watch it, I don't feel well."

Even when sleeptalking Watanuki managed a slow gesture with his hand for animation. It was getting harder to rouse him from his naps. Doumeki gave him a shove.

"Wake up, fool."

This time the boy stirred, blinking blearily at the empty classroom and jumping up, knocking back his chair in the process.

"I'm awake! I wasn't- ah… what?"

Doumeki gathered Watanuki's effects and stuffed them in the bag, waiting for Watanuki to shake off his drowsiness. It took longer than last time, but for all the fuss, he did scream bloody murder at Doumeki for most of the break.

* * *

The last thing Doumeki had expected to see now was Watanuki. Even though, in retrospect, it should be the first thing. Didn't he spend many an evening meditating on the various aspects of how the boy affected his life, including and mostly the many times he appeared in random places, needing rescuing, guidance and help. Doumeki sighed, his breath still visible in the air. Watanuki needed a lot of rescuing, no, he just needed someone to be there. Doumeki had long reckoned that if Watanuki had a relative or guardian to look after him, he'd be a lot safer from the outside world.

Which wasn't fair judgement.

It was a cold and clear night. The air was treacherously easy to breath in and cleansed the senses. There seemed to be more light from the sky than from the city. City lights warped the mind into thinking it was darker than it was. Doumeki preferred natural light at night, it emphasized what needed to be emphasized. He wouldn't have spotted Watanuki in city lights.

Doumeki once again caught himself on the verge of using words as 'striking' and the like to describe the tousled form sitting on the roof of the main temple. Eyes wide open; Doumeki thought they should be big enough to reflect the stars and the moon if he'd look close enough. What had his grandfather said? A small universe behind every person's eyes, a window to the soul, a door to the heart. Doumeki made his way through the courtyard to the temple. Lyrical was all nice, but he rather pressed on to more important questions than: why didn't other people notice Watanuki's clumsy charm?

Practical questions such as: how did Watanuki manage to get on the roof?

And: how would he get off without breaking his neck?

True, Watanuki managed many things he on his own. In all honesty, Doumeki wouldn't know where to start if he had to work out and through every benefit, reduction, insurance and tax himself. He held Watanuki's victory over the Bermuda Triangle of household bills in high regard. And then there was the boy's cooking. Doumeki shook his head. Roof. Night. Question.

"Oi."

Watanuki started and upon spotting Doumeki reacted with a good amount of melodrama, causing him to slide down.

Doumeki looked up, Watanuki looked down. It was very quiet, until Doumeki spoke again.

"What are you doing?"

Watanuki seemed to get some life back into him and pointed and yelled in his usual way.

"Why should I tell you, you who are out to kill me by stalking me and scaring me to death-"

"You'll fall." Doumeki warned, seeing it coming from a mile and further.

"-don't interrupt me when I'm talking, you stalk- ah!"

Watanuki waved his arms around to regain his balance, sliding sideways.

"I told you, you'll fall."

Watanuki clung to the roof, for as far as somebody could cling to a roof. Though Doumeki supposed he had to have gotten up there somehow, dragging that duvet with him in the process. There were some grumbles and some curses, but then Watanuki was perched back where he sat.

Doumeki frowned. Those were definitely bare feet and the colour of whatever the boy was wearing under the duvet gave away that he was in his pyjamas. Something struck Doumeki suddenly.

"Are you trapped?"

That got Watanuki's attention back to him.

"What?"

"Are you stuck?"

"I am doing something for Yuuko, I'm fine and I have an excuse, why are _you_ here?"

"Taking care of the shrine."

"In the middle of the night." Watanuki muttered.

How he managed to make that seem so strange, while he was the one who looked like he'd been teleported from his futon onto a roof was beyond Doumeki. It seemed best to do what he had set out to do first, and ask questions later. There was no way Watanuki could get down from there and escape without a loud thump to alarm Doumeki inside.

Cleaning up, taking the old incense out of the burners, and replacing it with some of his own, Doumeki threw a coin in the offering box and prayed for good tidings. For his family to be fortunate, for his cousin to have a healthy baby.

For Watanuki to have some good luck.

When he'd finished the boy was still there. Doumeki contemplated leaving. Yuuko hadn't contacted him so Watanuki shouldn't be in any immediate danger. Apart from catching a cold. This shrine was safe enough, nothing would bother him here and Doumeki's company would never be openly appreciated.

Hituzen, coincidence.

Was it really his business in the end?

Would it be wise to assume that if it _was _his business, it would become his business regardless of whether he staid or left? Doumeki supposed it was up to him and nobody else. What did he really want? To stay and be sneered at or to go home and warm up with some tea. Doumeki wondered if it truly was his own will preferring the roof.

Maybe he was just worried. Watanuki had since long slipped into his prayers and thoughts, why not preferences?

"Don't stare at me like that, you're giving me the creeps."

"What are you doing?"

Watanuki scowled and glanced at his watch.

"I'm done doing it. You can be useful and walk me home, they're waiting for me outside the gate. Catch!"

He gathered his duvet and threw it at Doumeki who hadn't expected that and caught it quite spectacularly with his head. It was quite possible Watanuki wore a grin when he disappeared from view; at any rate he was still smiling by the time he joined Doumeki.

"Why don't you have shoes?" Doumeki pointed.

"I do, they're over there, being chewed on by something with more heads than I can see probably." Watanuki said grimly.

"You want me to get them?"

"No."

"Wait here."

Doumeki walked over to the gate, trying to think of something that had more heads than one can see. Watanuki and his personal belongings were very popular with the spirits. The shoe floating in midair was probably the one being gnawed on. It dropped to the ground when Doumeki came closer.

"Ah, no wait…" Watanuki doubled over and sneezed.

Doumeki handed the shoes over.

"You're getting a cold."

Watanuki rubbed his nose and glowered.

"No, they're probably talking about me, that person is drunk now and laughing about my situation, I can feel it."

Watanuki put on his shoes, taking his time, and Doumeki did wonder about the truth behind that comment. It was plausible, but then it was also cold and as far as Doumeki could see -and he could see a lot of pale, glowing skin, too much for a cold night as this anyway- Watanuki only wore a cotton pyjama under his coat and duvet.

"Wear your shoes next time."

Watanuki looked up blankly.

"Sure, and I'll walk all over the place with them as well, do you really live in a shrine?"

Sometimes, on rare and always unfortunate occasions, Watanuki managed to be right about something. Climbing all over a place like this with shoes would not help someone as unlucky as Watanuki with his fortune.

Doumeki took off his scarf and pointed to the left.

"Look over there."

When Watanuki turned his head, Doumeki wrapped the scarf around him.

The boy bristled.

"You tricked me!" He struggled. "That's a cheap trick!"

"You're the one who fell for it." Doumeki tucked the scarf in, avoiding a hand intent on connecting with his face.

"I don't need it!" Watanuki huffed.

"If you catch a cold you can't do whatever you're doing now, I'm sure it would upset someone."

Watanuki plucked at the scarf and scowled.

"I want some sweet egg in my lunch tomorrow." Doumeki said.

"I don't take orders."

"And I want my scarf back." Doumeki set a fast pace.

"Then have it!" Watanuki yelled after him, but made no effort to take it off.

* * *

"Will you tell me what's going on?" Doumeki asked when the boy had calmed down a bit from his initial drama.

"There is nothing to tell."

Doumeki considered this, before he answered.

"You're sitting on my roof."

Watanuki didn't seem the least bit surprised by such a comeback.

"I can sit on the roof of a shrine! Why are you here, anyway? Decent people are in bed at this hour, could it be that you deprive yourself of sleep just to annoy me?"

"One of the shrine maidens told me they saw someone suspicious-"

"Who are you calling suspicious?"

"-and asked me to check it out."

Watanuki pulled his duvet around him tighter, glared with those big shiny eyes and then pointedly looked away.

"Well, it's nothing, I'm working, you of all people should understand, so go back inside."

If there were people around they would swear Doumeki rolled his eyes before closing the door.

* * *

"Will you stop scaring me!"

Doumeki ignored the complaint altogether and knelt down. It wasn't that cold anymore, and it was a small miracle Watanuki hadn't gotten the flu yet. Doumeki hadn't actively searched for the boy since last time, but he had to wake him up often this week in class.

"What are you doing?" Watanuki asked suspiciously.

"Shut up and do your job."

"I am!"

Doumeki unpacked a thermos and poured some tea in a cup, shoving it in the boy's hands. It was nice to see Watanuki's annoyance shift to something else for a change. He dumped a package in the boy's lap as well. It had some rice left over from dinner. Watanuki seemed too skinny with all that skin he was showing.

"What is it?" Watanuki asked even more distrustful, eyeing his tea.

"Tea. Now drink it, or you'll freeze and die."

Doumeki didn't wait for a reply and instead got up, starting his climb down the ladder.

"Yuuko put you up to this, didn't she?"

Watanuki's head appeared over the edge of the roof.

"I haven't had any oden in a while." Doumeki said, jumping to the ground.

"Are you crazy? Do you know how long that takes to make?"

Watanuki hollered some more abuse after him. Eyes gleaming, and hair messed up, arms waving and collarbone exposed because of too large pyjamas.

Doumeki was sure the boy would be fine for now.

The next day Watanuki didn't walk straight past him as per usual. Instead he walked right up to him.

"Here."

Doumeki frowned at the bag the boy held out.

"Is it oden?"

Watanuki growled.

"No, it's still cooking, you can have it later."

What 'later' meant exactly was something Doumeki intended on finding out in a minute.

"What is that then?"

"Your scarf."

Doumeki pushed off from the wall he was leaning against and started walking.

"Hey! I'm not carrying it! Here!"

Watanuki ran after him, arm still extended.

"I have a new one."

"What?"

"Keep it."

Watanuki looked slightly adorable with the perplexed expression on his face, especially with the bag clutched to him. They walked in silence until they were nearly at the point where they'd meet Himawari.

"Tonight…" Watanuki started.

"What?"

"Tonight, when I come to the shrine, I'll bring your food. But only because I have to do something in return for this!" the bag dangled from Watanuki's wrist as he waved his arm around, "So don't get any ideas!"

"Like what?" Doumeki asked.

It was quiet for a moment until Watanuki understood the leer.

"Pervert!" he exclaimed and stomped off.

Doumeki added 'scarf' to today's shopping list.

* * *

Tbcontinued.

* * *

Thank you once more for the lovely reviews, it were those that inspired me to write more. I'd be much obliged if you'd find the time to tell me again what you think. Suggestions are welcome as well. You can Review or Email me.

Cheers for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Summary: Where Doumeki has the urge to press Watanuki flat on his back, but settles for having the boy sleep over. Hints of Doumeki x Watanuki

AN: So yeah maybe I am sort of hinting towards future volumes, but nothing you'll understand if you don't know what I'm talking about. Took me ages to get this bastard up. Let me know how you find it, yes? I fiddled a lot with time and space here methinks.

Warning: Unedited. Yes, it will have many errors. I just don't have the time.

Edit 11/4: took some of the more obvious errors out, methinks. It was hurting my ego, also put a slightly different layout to prevent confusion. For those that reread: let me know if this is better

* * *

Lucky Charm

* * *

Walking Watanuki home was an experience in itself, Doumeki reflected. If it were a day where he would walk home himself, or even before he started accompanying the boy, he would simply leave the school gates, think about nothing and the weather and suddenly find himself at the gates of the shrine with no recollection of the journey. He assumed this happened because it was frightfully dull, but with Watanuki he never had those blackouts, even when they didn't speak about much, or anything for that matter.

When they did talk, Watanuki raged at him about something or the other –usually Yuuko, he did that often. Doumeki would listen half-heartedly for the keywords 'horrible', 'drunk' and 'slavery'. If Watanuki felt in form he'd skip to Doumeki's faults, listing them according to horribleness and uselessness and finally if there was sometime left –there usually wasn't though, Watanuki managed to find fault in everything Doumeki did- Watanuki would wax lyrical over something completely normal Himawari had done that day, and elevate it to the point of divinity.

This was something Doumeki failed to see. Completely. True enough, Himawari was kind and perhaps even cute, but still naïve despite her powers of perception. Besides, she was not at all doing well in classes, whereas Doumeki managed to be in the top three still, regardless of how many hours he spent in the rain waiting for Watanuki the idiot to find a new way kill himself. The boy's grades had gone down these past few weeks. Doumeki hadn't been there, but he had heard the teacher yell from across the hallway when Watanuki had finally been caught sleeping.

He'd been meaning to ask about Watanuki's grade average. There were a lot of things he'd been meaning to ask, though he now knew why Watanuki had chosen to enter his apartment through the fire-escape rather than the front door. It would've been funny if it weren't a bit sad, but despite all the short-cuts and long-ways-around, Watanuki had apparently still managed to escape from the clutches of the landlord and find the time to prepare a meal.

And as good meal it was. In silence and peace and with Watanuki's perfect table manners it reminded Doumeki of the official gatherings he'd been taken along to when he'd been young.

Sometimes Watanuki could be at rest.

Until he had to speak.

"So." Doumeki started as the boy rose on his knees to reach for the teacups.

"So?" Watanuki said weary.

"I am waiting for your story."

"Hn." Watanuki said.

It hit Doumeki, as Watanuki was pouring the tea, all gracious point of knuckle and slender fingers and fluid movement, that it was good they didn't live in a big city, or near the centre of this one. Someone with Watanuki's skill and appearance could've ended up in far worse places than Yuuko's shop.

"You owe me for saving your life."

"When?"

"Pick one." Doumeki scratched his ear, appearing as uninterested as possible, even if by now he really wanted to know what was going on.

"And what is this?" Watanuki pointed at the pot they had planted in the middle of the table one of Doumeki's rooms. Simmering inside was what Doumeki found to be one of Watanuki's best meals yet. For all his sputtering, the boy put a lot of effort in whatever he made.

"Payback for the scarf." Doumeki said, drinking his tea.

"That's, that was a gift…"

"Why are the spirits after you?"

"Ack!" Watanuki twitched, "Don't change the subject."

"Well?"

The boy had seemed genuinely surprised for a moment and if Doumeki didn't know better he'd think the boy almost forgot to be upset about that.

"They just like me, you know that." Watanuki replied, refilling Doumeki's cup.

"They seem to like you a lot more these days."

Watanuki's reactions were still entertaining to observe. Doumeki could predict and list Watanuki's various states of mind the same way Watanuki had listed his shortcomings on his way over.

"Is it because Yuuko has you watching the sky?" he went on.

"Argh." Watanuki said.

"Tell me."

"Why are you so interested in personal problems, just buy a magazine like normal people do."

"I rather hear it from you." Doumeki assured.

"It's stupid."

"I'm sure."

Watanuki gave a glare and adjusted his glasses.

"It's complicated," he started, "it's- well it's all that Yuuko's fault."

Obviously, Doumeki thought.

"She had me cleaning out the entire storage room, do you have any idea how big that is? It's a maze, no worse, it's an abyss." Watanuki shivered. "Who knows what lurks all the way at the back."

"You didn't finish it then?"

"Hah! No way. I'd be old before I'd be able to finish that!" A look terror passed over the boy's face for a moment before he continued with a growl, "But Yuuko doesn't care about things like time and mortality and my well-being and told me to clean it anyway. So I did."

_He_ had _been cleaning for the past few hours. With all the junk, excuse him, 'treasure' that Yuuko gathered there was plenty of opportunity for dust to gather and spiders to hide. Watanuki tried never to kill the spiders, ever. Well, not if it could be helped. There was a particular big one that he'd accidentally crushed a few minutes ago when it was trying to escape his duster. It shouldn't have bothered him that much, but for some reason a dark feeling of foreboding hit him, and he'd learned not to ignore that._

_It didn't help that when he passed one of the backrooms Yuuko looked at him through the layers of smoke from her pipe and said 'don't do that again Watanuki'. Then, as Watanuki was going about his business, Yuuko had wondered out loud if Watanuki would gather dust like that as well if she was done with him and put him on one of the shelves. She'd laughed madly as Watanuki dropped his duster and his cleaning spray, and left Watanuki to stand and contemplate the many horrors of becoming one of Yuuko's items. Spending the rest of his days a soulless object gathering dust. After all, who was to say Yuuko didn't collect people as well, she took both inanimate objects as abstracts for a prize-_

"This is a long story." 

Watanuki coughed

"Don't interrupt! Ah! You made me lose where I was."

Doumeki drank his tea

"You were a soulless object gathering dust."

Watanuki blinked at him. "Oh, right."

_That evening, when Watanuki was set up to leave, nervous and jittery from dodging all the spiders -and every dustbunny resembling one- Yuuko appeared in full robes and blocked his way. She loomed over him, sweet smile on her face –Watanuki though it was more a leer- and eyes glazed over with alcohol; the smell of incense clung to her, wrapped around her in thick clouds. She batted her eyelashes, grin widening._

_"What?" Watanuki wrung out._

_"Please, set the table for two."_

_"Now!"_

_"No time like the present, Watanuki." Yuuko replied happily._

_"Easy for you to say." Watanuki grumbled._

_Yuuko clapped her hands when Watanuki took off his coat again. As if Watanuki staying was something he did out of the good of his heart just for her, and this was a wonderful surprise and not at all because she forced him to do so._

_"I'm going to need some snacks and lots and lots of alcohol." She said._

_"Alcohol!" Chimed the two girls who had materialized at her side with an apron._

_"I don't have clean clothes for tomorrow," Watanuki said in his defence._

_A lot of alcohol meant a long night ahead with countless of useless things for him to do and no time for him to do homework or to even go home. Yuuko shoved the apron in Watanuki's hands and leant in close. Watanuki never really realized how tall she was until she did that._

_"My clothes..." Watanuki tried._

_"You won't need them."_

_Watanuki could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end and took a few steps backwards, realizing he'd lost this battle._

_"Argh, fine! Don't comfort me, see if I care." He grumbled as he stomped off to the kitchen, with Moru and Maru on his heels._

_Much later, when Watanuki was setting the table, complete with snacks and alcohol and Mokona who helped by singing a song, there was indeed a knock on the door. Yuuko's voice floated from the ante-chamber, telling him to let the guest in._

"So, who was it?"

Watanuki growled for a second but answered anyway.

"It was a woman, a really amazing woman."

"How amazing?"

Watanuki stared for a moment. Doumeki stared right back until he noticed Watanuki really had the wrong idea.

"Amazing doesn't give me a visual."

"Oh," Watanuki shifted, "she was wearing a business-suit, but she was white."

"She was foreign?"

"No- yes, she is, but no, that's not what I mean."

Doumeki put his chin on his hand and rubbed his eyes.

"What _do_ you mean?"

"Er." Watanuki said, flustered. "She was white, her appearance, her hair, which was dark brown, but still white and why am I explaining this to someone who is imaginatively challenged."

Doumeki nodded lazily and made a noncommittal noise.

"No, I see."

"I wonder." Watanuki sneered loud enough.

"Your eyes are the same."

"Eh? What?"

"You have the same eyes, one colour and then a true colour, if I look long enough I can see it." Doumeki said, finishing his tea.

"Ew" Watanuki said.

"Ew?"

"That type of talk is for girls, don't go around saying that to guys."

"You're blushing."

"Only out of shame for you because you have none!"

"Your parents are Japanese, right?" Doumeki went on.

"Why is this turning into a marriage interview?"

"There is no way your eyes can be blue as well as dark, but they are."

"What are you doing?"

"Your eyes, that woman sounds the same."

"Stop!"

"They're definitely two colours."

"Stop! Don't you _dare _lean any closer!" Watanuki yelped.

Doumeki wasn't planning to, not really. If he did, Watanuki would be pressed flat on his back on the floor of Doumeki's living room in an attempt to keep a healthy amount of distance between them. Though Doumeki didn't lie to himself and would very much like to see what Watanuki did in that particular position; eyes wide behind askew glasses, hair ruffled, hands braced beside him, palms flat on the tiles; it would probably all end with the idiot hurting himself and not revealing the secret that was 'so dark he couldn't tell anyone'.

Doumeki still doubted that last bit sincerely. In his experience, the things Watanuki thought to be terribly embarrassing were often every day matters everyone had to cope with. Those issues that caused the boy to huff and scoff and work up a blush -to the point where it was cute- served to amuse Doumeki till no end. But the things Watanuki dismissed with a wave of his hand. Issues he turned into trivialities with a shrug of those skinny shoulders, those were the ones that mattered. They endangered the boy and that attitude aggravated Doumeki, wishing he _would_ lose his patience right now, and that he _would_ push Watanuki down and would hold him there until every demon was dragged out into the sunlight.

But not now.

There was no sun anyway.

"Why are you watching the sky?" He asked again slowly, backing off and allowing Watanuki his breathing space.

"You are _such_ a pervert." Watanuki ground out.

That was another thing Doumeki doubted. At given times. He was sure he wasn't like the other boys in school, or the ones on television. He didn't have that much time to try all that anyway. Still, there were some nights that he woke up with a dry throat and the distinct notion that there was something not right with him. Maybe it was even worse being this way and maybe Watanuki had a point after all.

"So the woman was white over the other colours?" he asked. Watanuki's glare could be interpreted as a 'yes'. Or as 'die now'; either was good enough for Doumeki.

"That is an amazing woman."

"I just said that." Watanuki groused. "She was amazing and she knew Yuuko, and she spoke perfect Japanese, and she petted me on the head."

Doumeki would have very much liked to see that.

"Who was she?"

"I can't remember her name, something weird and foreign, but you know what she was? She was a god, a real one."

Doumeki frowned. There were spirits and ghosts and spectres and creatures that lived outside what he and the rest of humankind could see, but he had met them all in various ways anyway. A god, however, was something else. Yuuko didn't seem to entertain gods on a regular basis.

"She wanted to quit."

"Quit being a god?" Doumeki asked, frowning a little still.

Watanuki nodded.

"So that was her wish, and what was the price?"

Watanuki shook his head.

"Yuuko refused. She said it couldn't be done, it would mess up the universe."

When Yuuko said it messed up the universe, it wasn't an idle threat Doumeki knew. It was a good story, albeit a long one, but it just created more questions. All Doumeki wanted to know was-

"Why are _you _sitting on my roof then?"

"I'm filling in for her. Yuuko told her to take a break."

Doumeki's elbow almost slipped from the table, but not quite. To be honest, he hadn't expected to get an answer out of the boy as fast as this. Relatively fast. It was still sudden, no matter how close it was to whatever truth Doumeki had expected.

Also, it was something Watanuki treated as unimportant, but was in fact eating away at him.

"What does she do exactly?" he asked.

"She just guards, a dog."

"A dog in the sky?"

"Yes, he's-, he's huge. I never saw him before, but that night at Yuuko's I could. He's been there a long time, he's trapped in the stars, but if he breaks free then, well…" Watanuki made a vague gesture with his hand that possibly could mean anything. Doumeki interpreted it as 'bad'.

"You watch him?"

"It's stupid, he's been there for thousands of years."

"What do you do when he breaks free?"

Watanuki lowered his head and smiled. "I don't know. I don't think it will come to that in my lifetime at any rate."

"That's not what you're thinking." Doumeki said, warning signs flashing up in his head as they always did when Watanuki avoided eye contact. "You're thinking 'what if it happens during my watch?'"

"You have any idea about embarrassment?"

"I don't think failing where a god can't keep up is embarrassing. At any rate, nobody is left to notice."

"Not helping!"

"It's irresponsible to ask this of a normal person, if something happens it is the fault of those who asked."

"That is-"

Doumeki leant over and picked the last fish cake out of Watanuki's bowl, then used Watanuki's tea to wash it down with. The boy looked like he couldn't decide where to start his lecture on.

"Are you quite finished?" Watanuki finally managed.

"I've never had oden this way before."

"Hmpf"

"What type of fishcake did you use for this? The cheap kind?"

"Of course not!"

"Will you stay over tonight?"

"Eh? No, I can't. Anyway, I have to…you know, for the next few hours." Watanuki pointed a finger up in the air.

"I'll make a bed for when you're done." Doumeki said, getting up and stacking up the dishes.

"I don't have any clothes…" Watanuki protested.

"You can wear mine."

"I don't have anything else…" Watanuki continued.

"You can have mine." Doumeki said, bringing the bowls and plates to the kitchen.

After all, protests he couldn't hear weren't valid protests.

* * *

TBContinued.

* * *

If you managed to wade through the syntax errors and still live, tell me what you think? Suggestions are welcome.Your reviews flatter me till on end, even when they're critical. Thank you very much for your time and see you next month.


	4. Chapter 4

Summary: Doumeki gets an opportunity he cannot refuse. Watanuki gets mauled by a kitten. Hints of Doumeki x Watanuki

AN: It would be a wonderful world if everyone kept his word. Oh well. I still think the world I a pretty awesome place despite everything, but that's me, the optimist. At any rate, enjoy the writing and try not to die of overdoses of the usual things authors warn for, varying from bad writing to cuteness and so on.

Warning: Er, the usual?

Credit: Edited by Arrhythmic Song. So it's made of own and win.

* * *

Lucky Charm

* * *

There was a system to it, as there was a system to anything people could get their hands on. In this case, he would start on the outside and work his way in; he would go round with slow deliberate strokes. Discipline. The small tracks in the dirt had to flow together. Sweeping in an even motion turning inwards, all the way inwards until there was that perfect point in the middle where everything joined up. And then he would start over. Endurance. It gave him a feeling of calm, in his mind, his heart. It made him at ease with being. It lasted forever and was meaningful in its insignificance, in its banality and mortality. It was peace.

It used to work him up so much. Every single sweep with the broom represented all his hatred for everything. With every motion the little bells tied to the handle would jingle softly, aggravating him, daring him, taunting him. The tracks never locked and would become uneven until in the end, the bells jingled constantly and his grandfather had to pry his trembling hands off the broom and lead his shaking form into the temple to bandage him.

Now Doumeki could circle the yard forever, the handmade tracks in the dirt representing his order. He drew even lines in the sand and soil, taming the ocean, circling Japan and untangling the chaos in his head. Doumeki's broom hadn't had bells on it for years, but if it did, the temple would still bask in silence.

He preferred this to meditating. It was easier for him to focus when he was doing something with his hands. Doumeki always opted to swipe the courtyard and didn't mind swapping with the other people. His grandfather had always said he wasn't meant for temple life. Doumeki disagreed; he couldn't imagine himself anywhere else than here.

There was one other place he spent even more time than the courtyard: the small personal library the shrine had. It was small and quiet, and old scriptures, books and texts were piled up in on large wooden shelves. His grandfather had taken him there and told him that if later, when he was older, he deemed the situation grave enough, he would definitely find what he was looking for in here.

Doumeki never had a reason to look for anything particular in the library. Instead, what he found was peace and quiet, much like in his daily chores.

This time, however, Doumeki was looking for something, and though running the risk of upsetting the spirits of his ancestors, he damned the whole damn building because couldn't find anything useful in the whole damn thing. Nothing on demon dogs in the sky, nothing on star signs being devoured, nothing on apocalypses caused by goddesses with a burn-out. In short, nothing that could help Watanuki.

Speaking of the idiot. This was a whole new level of mess he'd worked himself into. Even though it was not his fault, it never was, which made the whole situation so painfully, well, painful. It was one thing to have the weight of the world on your shoulders, which was and  
wasn't the case here, because Doumeki was absolutely positive nothing would happen in the time Watanuki was guarding the dog. If that goddess had been here for millennia, it meant Watanuki's watch was a mere millisecond in the whole grand scheme. That was all fine, as far as Doumeki was concerned. But it was another thing to balance independent life and studies at the same time. Watanuki had no support anywhere, and nobody cared about an orphaned student dropping out of middle school. Doumeki wasn't entirely sure he would care if he hadn't known Watanuki. But he did. Know him, that is.

Watanuki had slept over for five nights now, curled up on the spare futon placed in the most leftmost room of the shrine. It was the room Doumeki and his grandfather had used for meditation, years back. It was serene and felt right. Doumeki assumed that would be the best place for the boy to get some rest, though by the looks of it Watanuki would've slept in the middle of an arcade on a bank holiday.

At any rate, it was impossible to wake the idiot up. Doumeki wished he got 100 yen for every time he had to say ridiculous lines such as 'wake up, it's time for bed' and 'I am not a pillow'. Admittedly the latter only happened twice, and so far he hadn't had the chance to remind the boy of it. It wasn't as if he was waiting for the opportune moment, but it was always good to have something like that in handy, just in case –the rare and improbable case- Watanuki ran out of things to yell about.

Another yellow and probably priceless book was added to the stack on the desk Doumeki had marked 'useless'. As far as modern and ancient spirituality was concerned, Watanuki was seeing things and should consider medical help -something Doumeki thought very ironic and not at all funny. Stuffing all the books back into their respective corners he gave up for the time being. It was time to meet Watanuki at Yuuko's place.

Apparently between the dog-sitting, housework and school, Watanuki had managed to get himself saddled with another one of Yuuko's assignments. He wondered how the boy would take it.

* * *

"Death"

"Really."

"Yes." Watanuki muttered. "Death."

"I see." Doumeki remarked, pulling slightly on Watanuki's collar to stop him from walking into the road. "There is another way, I'm sure."

"Death." Watanuki assured.

"It is only to the city district and back."

"In the afternoon on a Friday. Never mind, I will do this and get it over with. It is just an errand, it won't be bad. Of course, by saying that I just made sure it will be bad. And since when have any of that woman's outrageous requests not been bad for me? Not that she listens. Everyone ignores me and my wishes. If I were gone she would say 'where is my nightcap?' and forget who brought it in the first place. This is the most underappreciated job ever. And putting all that aside I have to study for my exams as well because I _do_ want to go to high school _despite_ what all the guidance counsellors seem to think and, and-" Watanuki took a deep breath. "-why are _you_ here?"

"Yuuko said I better accompany you."

"Why? So you can annoy me?"

"To make sure you don't get lost."

"What!"

Doumeki disregarded the rest of the offence and wondered if he would ever put up with that much abuse from any other person. Of course, other people didn't suddenly dance in the middle of the street yelling 'get it off'. Or called him useless on a regular basis. Or stood as close to him in the subway as now; eyeing the far end of the cart. Also, Doumeki added as an afterthought, other people didn't get stopped in the street by strange foreign men who bowed down and yammered on in a strange language. Or disregarded that many traffic rules in what Doumeki feared to be, in some corner of his mind, a suicide attempt as a result of a black mood.

"I said, hey!"

Doumeki stumbled a step backwards and rubbed his ear.

"What?"

"You're ignoring me." Watanuki said disgruntled.

"What?" Doumeki asked again.

"Never mind."

"Where are we going?" Doumeki enquired carefully after they turned another corner. Watanuki, like any middle schooler, knew his way around big city centres and shopping malls. But right now, Doumeki had the distinct notion they were zigzagging their way aimlessly through the school uniforms and mothers with children.

"I don't know." Watanuki said.

"You don't know?"

"No, I don't know. Yuuko said I would know when I was there."

"I see."

"Before you say 'do you feel anything', no I don't," Watanuki turned around and pushed his glasses further up his nose and glared. Sometimes Doumeki recalled seeing the same gesture in his head when he woke up at night. Watanuki did it often when he was irritated. It figured that the Watanuki in his dreams was annoyed with him as well. "And just so you know, we are walking until I do, which will last forever in this place because it is crawling with, with…"

"With?"

"Did you feel that?"

"No, I didn't." Doumeki turned his head slightly to the side, avoiding Watanuki seeing his expression. The times Watanuki was funniest were the worst times to laugh at it.

The boy stuck his nose in the air and blinked a coupe of times. Doumeki was sure that if he'd had cat ears and whiskers they would quiver with query. The conversation was over and Doumeki made no comment as he followed the boy through the crowd until he stopped so sudden Doumeki nearly bumped into him.

"We're here. I think." The boy said, before he abruptly turned around and squeezed his way through a group of girls into a shop, which on closer inspection, turned out to be one of those 'cute pet' petshops.

Doumeki followed warily. Places like this were not meant for people like him. Watanuki didn't seem to be bothered as much and was standing in the middle of a group of cooing girls peering into a large glass cage in the window.

"What are you doing?" Doumeki asked.

"I'm looking for something."

"For what?"

Watanuki either didn't hear or just ignored the question. At any rate, Doumeki was feeling decidedly more on display.

"What are you looking for?" he asked again.

Watanuki went from one cage to the other.

"A soulmate."

Doumeki was not sure he'd heard that correctly.

"For you? Here?"

Watanuki again didn't hear him, or ignored him. By now Doumeki wasn't the only one who saw the abnormality of them being here.

"Found it!" Watanuki's voice carried throughout the shop.

Good, Doumeki thought.

"Are you here looking for a pet?" A girl asked. Doumeki turned his gaze downward to a pair of bright eyes, long eyelashes, full lips and a very developed chest. The crest on it announced proudly that the chest and the girl it belonged to were from one of the better girl schools in the district.

"No."

"Oh," she pouted exactly the same way the shrine maidens did when they wanted Doumeki to take over one of their chores. "You're here with your girlfriend, right?"

"No." Doumeki looked out for the black and white that was Watanuki.

"Uhm, do you have a girlfriend, or somebody you like?"

"No." Doumeki spotted Watanuki in the back, struggling with Yuuko's purse while at the same time trying to contain the kitten clawing all over him.

"Uhm, well, would you want to go out with me sometime?" the girl asked, batting her eyelashes most seductively. She was so close now Doumeki could actually feel the heat radiating from her body.

"Sure." He said.

"Ee! Really?"

"Sure."

Doumeki had to admit the kitten destroying Watanuki's uniform looked adorable. Well, it had all the trademarks of adorable anyway. It was cute, cuddly and slightly clumsy. Exactly like everything else in the shop including the customers. And there were many customers. So many customers and they were everywhere, staring at him. Doumeki was but one boy. One boy in a pet shop filled with squealing girls. He couldn't even count Watanuki anymore, as the idiot was completely in synch with the female collective mind anyway.

"So, my name's Honda Sachiko, can I have your number?" the girl asked, holding up her mobile phone.

"I don't have a phone." Doumeki said.

"What? Really? But how will I talk to you?"

"Wait here." Doumeki patted her on the shoulder and started making his way over to the back.

"Finished with the girls? Here to give me a hand like Yuuko told you to?" Watanuki scowled, the kitten tightly in his arms.

"You found it?" Doumeki asked, leaning closer to the cat. "The soulmate?"

"This is the one, I know it."

"It has funny ears."

"Yuuko likes funny things, you know that, she collects them- and you can stop giving me that look!"

Doumeki wasn't really giving a look, but as long as Watanuki still listened to himself when he was talking, he supposed he'd take the blame.

"You can buy it just like that? No papers, no identification?"

"Yes, the shopowner knows Yuuko." Watanuki said, extracting the creature from his arm.

"You can have it?"

Watanuki shook his head again, pink blush forming on his cheeks.

"That woman didn't give me enough money." He mumbled. "I'm thinking."

Doumeki squinted at the cat again and looked Watanuki over some more. The skinny look wasn't as serious as it seemed. The dark circles under his eyes were prominent in a way Doumeki had rather not, but he was working on that. The little marks on his arms reddening and forming a pattern of cat claws enhanced the notion of his white skin. Doumeki closed his eyes for a moment. It was so easy to linger on everything that was wrong with the boy's appearance.

"This month's instalment of tuition fees is coming up, right? You're saving up to move, right? I'll pay for it."

Watanuki didn't say anything.

"Go outside, it's too busy here." Doumeki said, giving the boy a slight shove. "You can thank me later."

Watanuki didn't even retaliate.

* * *

"Why is it always a stormy night?" Watanuki complained.

"Oh lighten up, there is a little wind, a little rain, you did a good deed!" Yuuko said. She was holding one of the most menacing umbrellas Doumeki had ever seen and waved it around so much she should have been as soaking wet as Watanuki and him were right now. She wasn't, of course, which explained the cheerful smile. "She has been very lonely, it was a good thing you did today, Watanuki."

Watanuki said nothing and kept staring at a perfectly dry little bench under a cedar tree further ahead. The cat was walking circles and jumping up and down trying to catch the dogtail swooped around by the old lady. Not that Doumeki could see her _or_ the cat toy, but Watanuki had said she was there, and judging from how happy the cat was, it was probably true.

"What happens to the cat of a dead person?" he asked.

Yuuko turned her large half-lidded eyes on him.

"I imagine they will take good care of each other. A bond that strong cannot be broken by death, many people all over the world have proved that time and again even if they don't realize it."

"That's what you said to the exorcist who visited you, right?" Watanuki said and pointed at his eye. "Remember? The one who wished for-"

"At this hour you better not say things like that out loud, Watanuki." Yuuko smiled.

Watanuki quickly lowered his hands and stuffed them in his pockets.

"I also want to thank you for helping, Doumeki." Yuuko winked. "So tonight only you can ask for whatever you want and Watanuki here will give it to you."

"What? What!" Watanuki inched slightly backwards.

Doumeki had never really thought that the boys' eyes could open this wide in blind panic. Despite everything had they had been through he wasn't sure he'd ever seen Watanuki in that state ever. It was refreshing in a way.

"Will this be a wish?" He asked.

"Well the value of what you gave me was not so high that I can grand you your every desire, but if you want to call it a wish, you can."

"I have to decide tonight?"

Yuuko laughed. "Value decreases over time, tomorrow your monetary sacrifice will mean less than one of Watanuki's lunches."

"Hey!" Watanuki protested.

"I want to discuss this in private." Doumeki said.

"Excellent, we have a deal then! Hold this!" Yuuko handed Watanuki her umbrella and her bag. "Go to Doumeki's and prepare me some nice warm alcohol for when we get back? We won't be long, and we'll have to bandage those scratches up as well, I'm sure Doumeki won't mind you using his shower."

"I am not for sale…" Watanuki grit out.

"Yes." Yuuko said, leaving it entirely in the middle. "Off you go. I have some business to talk about."

Watanuki shot them one last glance before turning around to stomp off into the night -as well as anyone could stomp off carrying a gigantic black lacy umbrella anyway. It was kind of endearing to see Watanuki struggle with the umbrella, just as it had been with the cat. Doumeki hoped quietly it wasn't the struggling that tickled his particular fancy. Still, he thought Watanuki kind of belonged in that pet shop himself. He resembled most creatures there. It would have been a better job for sure.

"So, what is it that you can't ask me in front of Watanuki?" Yuuko interrupted. "Is it scandalous?"

"He will protest." Doumeki shrugged.

Yuuko cocked her head and smiled.

"He always protests, but first things first! I want your number."

"Why?"

"To reach you. If I am to give you what you want, you need to give me something extra. You don't have it on you now."

Doumeki should have known Yuuko knew what he wanted before he asked. He speculated for a brief moment if she knew what he wanted before he even knew it was what he wanted.

"Watanuki has my number." He said.

"Good enough." Yuuko clapped her hands. "Then, shall we haggle?"

Doumeki nodded, ignoring the reminder he was giving himself that he wasn't special really, not the way Watanuki was. Haggling with the likes of Yuuko was dangerous for normal boys like him.

"You are an underappreciated child, Doumeki."

"I know." Doumeki said.

Yuuko leant in closer; her long hair brushed against his hands and tickled his ear.

"You are a _good_ friend."

"I know." Doumeki said.

* * *

TBC

* * *

I don't really do this cliffhanging thing. I mean, what if I fall? Anyway, I hope you had a good read out of it, I hoped to make up for my tardiness by making it a bit longer, then again the ending probably ruined that, but hey.

Thank you very much for all your positive and constructive messages everyone! Do leave some more. See you next month!


	5. Chapter 5

Summary: Doumeki knows what he's doing, he is being petty. Watanuki knows something is wrong. Hints of Doumeki x Watanuki

AN and spoiler warning for this author note: As this story is slowly but surely coming to an end I feel I should thank you all very much for your support. As most of you can guess by now, it connects to the rest of the xxxholic chapter that are currently being released in English. I probably would've finished it by now if I wasn't so lazy, but I might still make it in time.

Edited by Arrhythmic Song. Own + win.

* * *

Lucky Charm

* * *

It didn't exactly resemble any of the old films he'd seen when he was little, nor was it like the films from America with stampeding dinosaurs. The glasses didn't clink against each other and the ground didn't tremble. Even the tea in his cup didn't so much as ripple in the slightest. Still, Doumeki could hear the other boy coming from blocks away. He wondered if it was possible for someone under the healthy standard weight to make that much noise at all. The fact he heard it clearly had nothing to do with the question of whether it was possible.

It seemed to be on his mind every day now, Watanuki's body that is. More specifically, Watanuki's body in relation to words such as 'skinny', 'tired' and 'enthralling', which even Doumeki recognized as a weak excuse to keep looking because Watanuki wasn't that skinny at all. After all Doumeki carried him around the city on regular basis and it was still a chore.

Hoisting around a dead weight was always a chore as matter of fact, especially bodies. Not that Doumeki had a lot of experience in that, but Watanuki did _sleep_ like the dead.

Watanuki was not in a good mood. Doumeki knew that from the footsteps alone. He was halfway down the shrine grounds now and the proverbial animals already had already run for cover. To be honest, Doumeki liked to see Watanuki angry. Not that he liked to make the boy angry, but there was something so, so _glorious_ about Watanuki Kimihiro's rage. Everything around the boy smouldered a bit around the edges. The air around the boy almost felt like static electricity.

It sounded like something large had fallen over just now.

Watanuki didn't knock or ring the bell or wait before storming into the main building, Doumeki could hear he was in a hurry. The door was pushed aside and left open, shoes were being kicked off in one motion and then there was the thumping of sock clad feet on wood, becoming louder with every step.

Doumeki heard one of the shrine-maidens try to object along the way. His tea rippled slightly now as the footsteps skidded in front of the room and came to a halt. Doumeki took a deep breath. How Watanuki knew he was in there was beyond him.

"Doumeki!"

The doors slid open so fast Doumeki almost missed the movement entirely, picking up his teacup too fast and burning his fingers in the process. It didn't matter because Watanuki stood in the doorway equal parts menacing and worthwhile, looming over Doumeki, glaring down at him. Doumeki kept his cup steady and his gaze level between Watanuki's heaving chest and exposed collarbone.

"Found you! What do you think you're doing?" the boy demanded.

Doumeki took a moment of deliberation before he answered.

"I rearranged the flowers, now I am having tea, I will be doing homework later, remember we have History tomorrow."

Watanuki growled and stomped his foot on the floor exactly where the tea had been a minute ago.

"That's not what I mean. I mean last night; what did you do last night!"

"Before or after I carried someone to bed?" Doumeki asked, looking up.

"Gah!" Watanuki said, a nice blush spreading over his already reddened cheeks.

It probably explained to him why he had woken up in bed with proper sleeping attire on, instead of slumped over the table in his wet uniform. Doumeki didn't need gratitude; he knew he wasn't going to get that. Doumeki didn't want recognition either, honestly. He supposed that deep down all he wanted was some peace of mind for everyone.

Watanuki had been fast asleep when Yuuko and Doumeki had gotten back, but not before he had prepared food and drink. The manjuu had suggested they left Watanuki there because he seemed comfortable. Yuuko had suggested Doumeki turn on a heater to prevent the boy from getting a cold.

Doumeki had left the both of them to their drinking and had put the boy to bed.

"You! I was supposed to-"

"I talked with Yuuko." Doumeki continued, deciding it would be better to come as clean as possible quickly because Watanuki looked like he was about to pass out from stress.

"You haggled, did you?"

"We made an agreement."

"You-" Watanuki sat down with an unceremonious thump. It was not the reaction Doumeki had been expecting. "You made a wish." Watanuki finished, hanging his head, his hair hiding his expression from Doumeki and denying him an insight as to what Watanuki was thinking.

"If you want to call it that." Doumeki added slowly, before putting his tea down.

Watanuki clenched his fist.

"You are an _idiot_!"

Doumeki blinked.

"What did you ask? What else did you have to give?"

"You assume I haggled with that woman?"

"I _know_ you haggled with her, everyone does! Don't you see? She _collects _things. She _keeps_ them, forever and ever and ever. Did all those years of watching my enslavement set any example at all? You _know_ what happens to people who deal with her!"

"It will be different."

The boy shook his head.

"That's what they all say!"

Doumeki frowned.

"I know what I am doing."

"No!" Watanuki threw his hands in the air. "That's what they all say! Ah, how can you be so stupid?"

"Are you jealous?"

"What? Jealous of you? Never!" Watanuki crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"If you are worried about me, you can cook me lunch." Doumeki offered.

"I am not-" Watanuki twitched. "I am not cooking for you!"

Doumeki got up and took his tea and effects to make for the kitchen. Watanuki's padded footsteps followed as expected.

"Did you haggle? What did you ask for?"

"My business is my own business." Doumeki said stiffly. "Don't make it yours."

"I am the one who wants to say that." Watanuki grumbled. "Tell me."

"I have homework."

"Tell me afterwards."

"I have bow-practice."

"Tell me after that!" Watanuki said, stomping his feet, marching after Doumeki through the maze that was the shrine's chambers and hallways.

"Don't you have work?" Doumeki said in a final attempt to get rid of the boy with grace. It was so blatant, what Watanuki felt. The last thing Doumeki needed now was…well this.

"You can walk with me." Watanuki said. "And don't think of running away."

Doumeki shrugged.

"You can come and watch me practise."

"I will, not that I want to." Watanuki retorted.

And that's what it had to be, Doumeki supposed. Unless the world ended between now and tonight.

During school Watanuki hovered around him, muttering that it was unfair, finding fault in most things Doumeki wrote down and generally obstructing very simple tasks to the extent that they became practically impossible.

Doumeki acknowledged it was unfair, especially because it was completely Watanuki's business, despite earlier statements. But he stood by his point. He wasn't lying; he had not wished for anything. Things had to go particularly bad for him to actually make a wish with Yuuko.

He wasn't even sure if there was anything out there that could make him consider that. Especially not after Yuuko's little anecdote about the travelling exorcist and his distorted death-and-life wish.

"_Perhaps you better save a wish for when it is needed more_."

Doumeki wasn't stupid; he knew perfectly well this meant things would get a lot worse in the future. So for now, he'd settled with a simple deal that wouldn't cost him much extra.

He hoped.

* * *

"It wasn't your fault, Doumeki." She said.

"That is so kind of you, Himawari." Watanuki beamed. "Too kind for him. Why are you still here? Shouldn't you go to the hospital wing or something?"

Doumeki gently brushed his fingers past the cut in his cheek. It left a small trace of red on his fingers; it was just a graze.

It was a freak accident. Amateurs cut their fingers on the strings, got hurt standing by the wrong position, or suffered the consequences of neglect. But Doumeki looked after his bow; he looked after all of his few material possessions. It stung a little, not as bad as some of the ordeals he had suffered for the idiot boy, but still enough to annoy him. It bled a little too.

As far as anybody watching was concerned, it had been a freak accident: the string on Doumeki's bow had snapped and caught him on his cheek. It could happen to anybody.

Doumeki knew exactly why it had happened to him.

"I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Himawari said, moving in to examine the cut.

"Himawari, don't do that!" Watanuki yelped. "Who knows what you might get."

"I'll be fine." Doumeki repeated.

"Just go to the hospital wing, go, go!"

Watanuki walked towards him and motioned with his hands the same way people did to shoo a dog away.

"Will you come with me?" Doumeki asked, leering as much as he could.

Watanuki took two steps back again.

"What, of course not!"

"I might run."

"What?"

"You two get along so well." Himawari interrupted, laughing.

"How can you say that!" Watanuki screeched.

Himawari laughed more.

"I'll see you afterwards at the school gates, is that alright?"

"No, wait. Don't leave… ah, she left." Watanuki sighed and turned his eyes back on Doumeki. "This is all your fault!"

During Doumeki's visit to the hospital wing Watanuki only mentioned a couple of times how Doumeki was single-handedly trying to ruin him –though this morning that had been Yuuko with the most outrageous request for some cookies- and how Himawari was the absolute best, even if her grades seemed to curve and her cooking skills didn't even match up to the boy's own.

Doumeki didn't need to hear it to know it. In fact, he didn't even want to hear it.

* * *

"Yes it is! So cute." Watanuki chimed, nodding vigorously at the superbly wrapped cookies Himawari held up.

They were pink. They had pink glazing and pink wrapping with a pink bow on the top. They were pink. Doumeki didn't hate pink -he didn't like it either- but he didn't mind it. Watanuki on the other hand hated pink, he knew. It had come up in a conversation once or twice or multiple times. It was one of those few moments where Watanuki had actually sat down and talked. Doumeki regretted the fact those conversations generally were on the more depressing side and topics of life.

Not that pink was particularly depressing. It was just…pink.

"What about these?" Himawari asked, holding up another pack that looked almost exactly the same.

"Absolutely cute." Watanuki said, lying through his teeth.

"You're the one who is being cute." Doumeki said.

Watanuki tripped over thin air and glared when he regained balance. Doumeki could just hear the lecture of infinite reproaches on manners, sexuality and socially adjusted behaviour -which Doumeki obviously all lacked- if it weren't for Himawari intervening.

"Oh, I think I'll buy this one."

"Ah yes, that is a great choice. Excellent." Watanuki nodded.

"I didn't know your voice could go that high." Doumeki remarked.

"What?"

Doumeki ignored Watanuki's dark look and waved his hand in the air, considering standing on tiptoes. He doubted it was possible to upset the other boy even more, though. From one of the top shelves he grabbed a small bag of cookies that didn't look like more ribbon than cookie and wasn't pink and carried it over to the counter.

"Well… well at least I don't have a girl's name." Watanuki said, way past the five-second rule of retaliation.

"Hmm." Doumeki said, not rising to the bait. "I'll take these ones."

The girl at the counter looked at him lovingly when he requested the cookies wrapped up in anything but pink. She winked at him too when his case broke and his money rolled over the counter and to top it all off she patted him on the arm when Watanuki sent him a particularly nasty glare.

He didn't bother to stay and wat for Himawari and Watanuki to finish. Besides, he needed air. If Watanuki wanted to call it running, he could.

* * *

"Doumeki!"

Doumeki didn't pick up his cup of tea. Watanuki would not trip over it anyway and he didn't feel like burning his fingers twice on the same day.

Watanuki looked worn out and was still slightly dusty from what had probably been a good cleaning session at Yuuko's shop.

"Dou-me-ki, you bastard, you ran!"

Doumeki didn't really have anything to offer as an argument for that.

Watanuki let himself drop down in the floor and put his arm over his eyes. Having made the shrine his home in just a week he seemed to have adopted all the habits he'd had at his own apartment. Doumeki wondered what was going on with that place and its massive landlord.

"Ah, and now I have to go up and watch the mutt in the sky, I can't take it."

Nor did Doumeki have anything to say to that. Yuuko had warned him that he'd feel differently about certain things. As it would seem, Doumeki thought, he was just tired and annoyed. Which he supposed was natural if one looked at today's events. The graze on his cheek still hurt, even if he took the bandage off when he got home.

"Don't ignore me." Watanuki said, peeking from under his arm. "I asked a question."

"You did?"

"I have been asking all day!" the boy reproached.

Oh right, Doumeki thought, feeling decidedly too tired to resist.

"I made a deal."

"What did she want?"

"My phone number."

It was quiet, and Watanuki hoisted himself up into a sitting position.

"That's why she me asked tonight." He muttered.

Doumeki nodded. It was in Yuuko's nature to request things that were seemingly unimportant and turned out to have greater meaning later. Sometimes Doumeki wondered if that type of insight in the world wouldn't destroy one's mind at some point. Yuuko was probably built of stronger stuff than ordinary humans. Perhaps multi-temporal and dimensional insight came with multi-dimensional and temporal abilities to tolerate all that information.

It would be a good thing to have. Doumeki felt increasingly upset and his world got increasingly distorted as the day went on. He should have known he was too normal to deal with this type of thing.

"So now you don't have a phone number anymore?" Watanuki asked.

"Nobody seems to remember." Doumeki said. "Not even me."

Watanuki was quiet for a moment, frowning. He quickly gave up.

"I knew it by heart a few hours ago." He said indignantly. "So I might as well delete you off my phone now?"

Doumeki shrugged. Not having a cell-phone didn't really upset him; he wasn't too fond of the concept anyway. At least he didn't have to lie his way through life anymore. He just hoped it wouldn't cost him dearly one day.

"If that's all, what did you get in return?"

A headache, Doumeki thought.

"Are you all right?" Watanuki asked.

Doumeki inspected the boy's features, but he seemed genuine.

"I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine." The boy said and scooted closer.

"I am fine." Doumeki protested, not entirely sure he could cope with today's world gone upside-down continuing here in his own living room.

"Shut up." Watanuki said and put a hand against his forehead.

Watanuki's hand felt cool and smooth. It gave Doumeki a moment to collect himself and point to focus on. He hadn't been feeling that lightheaded all day, had he? Today had been an ordeal, but Doumeki was sure he could live through it without getting any permanent damage in this sense.

"I think you have a fever." Watanuki mumbled.

Doumeki didn't say anything.

"I am not doing this because I like you." The boy added quickly before bumping their foreheads together.

That was even better. Everything about the boy was smooth and cold to Doumeki. Even the silky breath ghosting over his lips seemed cool.

"You have a fever." Watanuki concluded, seeming surprised by that himself.

"Yes." Doumeki said, not entirely sure if he was agreeing to anything.

"Can it be the cut on your cheek?"

"Probably." Doumeki said and got up slowly.

"Where are you going?"

"To bed."

Watanuki just nodded and Doumeki left him there, making his way through the corridors towards his bedroom. He wasn't even feeling hot or bothered; he didn't even feel ill, he was just annoyed with every little detail of today's day.

The dark wood of the walls felt cool and smooth, almost the same way Watanuki's skin had done. It was a pleasant sensation that tickled more than just his finer senses, despite the way he felt right now. It was odd for him to be so late noticing a fever. It was odd for him to have a fever to begin with. But everything was odd today, even Watanuki.

It was as if his world turned slightly hazy.

The walls were cold and trembled.

There was a rumbling under his feet.

"You idiot!" Watanuki yelled, grabbing him by the arm and hoisting him upright. "What are you doing?"

"You're loud." Doumeki said.

"This isn't from the cut, this is from Yuuko. I knew it, she said this was going to happen." Watanuki fumed. "She said, '_you better keep an eye on him_". She said, '_now that you can't reach him, you better keep an eye on him_'."

Doumeki tried not to drop his entire weight on the smaller boy's frame, but it was getting harder not to by the second.

"What did you do?" Watanuki demanded.

Doumeki shook his head, trying to clear the smoke.

"Argh, let's get you to bed first, you can tell me tomorrow."

"Yes." Doumeki managed.

"Damn right, yes. You're heavy! Where is everyone in this place? Aren't your parents around? What good are parents when they're not around?"

For some reason that statement held incredible sadness to Doumeki, and that was probably why he didn't protest to Watanuki's constant flow of words on Yuuko's forewarnings of the evening.

It struck him as typical that Yuuko would warn Watanuki.

He could see her standing there, looking at him through smoke and mirrors, through heavy air and cloth, through colours and butterflies. Black hair dissipating with the background, half-lidded eyes focussed on him through flesh, walls and time.

Doumeki swallowed. He could actually see her, he could feel her gaze on him from every direction.

She held one hand in front of her eye. Smoke came from between her red lips as they moved.

'_You better keep an eye on him, now that you still can_.'

* * *

TBContinued

* * *

What can I say? Thank you for reading, if you come back in a week or so my beta will probably have tweaked it so that you can't see that I'm not English.

I would appreciate it very much if you would leave me a review or an email telling what you think. And I would like to thank everyone who has been doing so.

See you next month!


	6. Chapter 6

Summary: Doumeki is feeling ill, Watanuki is taking action and Yuuko is a peeping tom. (Some Doumeki x Watanuki)

AN and Spoiler warning for this author note: the xxxholic manga killed me this month. Killed me ded, as it were. Also, in an interview I read with clamp, I think I know more about the ending of xxxholic than I want to… sighs maa.

Warnings: Unedited. Slightly higher rating for … er… well, yeah.

* * *

Lucky Charm

* * *

It was hot and he could not move. But it was silent. There were no cicadas or wind chimes; there was just the heat weighing down on him, preventing him from moving. Or maybe. Maybe he didn't want to move.

It was pleasurable torture, making him question his decency. His thoughts had grown hot. Swirling around in his mind without pattern or association every image seemed to swim and ripple like the end of the road on a summer afternoon. It was agonizing. With no way to resist the sensation there was nothing left to do but to experience it in every detail with all his body. To let it consume all of his body. To let it hold him and burn him and tease him until he was breathless.

These were fiery dreams, even for someone like him. It was white-hot with a constant red glow on every bit of skin exposed and sweat trickled and evaporated because of the blaze it created. The sun on that same summer afternoon had clawed its way into his stomach and was burning away his insides. His mind was smouldering around the edges and his breathy gasp rung loud in his ears, supplied him with scorched air and gave no release. Not yet.

But almost.

Almost…

He knew he was still digging his fingers into the sheets when he opened his eyes.

He knew Watanuki was sitting right next to him.

He didn't know how long the boy had been there.

"Good afternoon." Watanuki said, though his face didn't mirror that sentiment.

Doumeki cleared his throat to the best of his abilities and waited for his heartbeat to slow down.

"When did you…?"

Watanuki huffed. "'Thank you for looking after me' is what you want to say, right?"

Doumeki swallowed before responding, but regretted it immediately. Watanuki used that chance to continue.

"Then I believe it is 'Sorry for causing you so much trouble', isn't it?"

Doumeki took the water Watanuki held out for him and sipped it as well as he could without getting up.

"How about 'I recognize that I was wrong and Watanuki was right and I brought this upon my-"

"Hn." Doumeki interrupted, putting the cup down on its side and closing his eyes again. He was sticky, and sweaty and would not move as long as Watanuki was in the room.

He could hear the boy pick it up and refill it and imagined what he would see when he would open his eyes. After all this time of watching Watanuki, it was not hard to imagine the way he moved about, or the facial expression he had or even the thoughts going through his head. There were only a few moods he hadn't heard or seen Watanuki in. Though with all the information he had, he assumed his animated guess would be accurate. Doumeki could predict the boy's moods by simply listening to his breathing. So he could imagine how sharp it would be drawn in other situations, how raw it was expelled and how smooth it whispered over his skin in a hush.

"Damn."

Doumeki sat up so fast his vision fell behind.

"What are you doing?" Watanuki demanded immediately.

"Bath." Doumeki answered and got up with less grace than he would have liked. Watanuki made to grab his arm but Doumeki avoided that skilfully and wrapped his yukata tighter around him.

"I am going to the bathroom." Even if he had to crawl his way over, he was going to take a bath and cool down right now.

"Wait a minute!" Watanuki called after him. "Are you sure-"

"Yes." Doumeki said.

Watanuki moved his hands in big gestures.

"But, do you-"

"No." Doumeki said.

The boy looked like he wanted to say more, but remained quiet.

Doumeki struggled over to the bathroom, tore off his yukata, threw it in the hamper, locked the door and opened the window. Despite the cool air coming from outside the water was still too warm for his liking. Unfortunately he had both his hands firmly against the wall and if he moved he would topple over, so for the time being he let the hot beam of water stream down his back.

It had been a long time since he'd fallen ill and by now he'd forgotten how to deal with it. Three years ago he had caught some sort of bug that had taken out the entire archery-club. For days his fever had been so high he hadn't been able to leave his bed and at one point his family had considered taking him to hospital. Doumeki was not the type to get ill easily. Well, not anymore at least. Not for a long time.

After a minute Doumeki felt well enough to move, so he gathered his things and sat down to wash his hair. It was nice to get clean, it was always nice to relax and have a bath. It was a time to think, and Doumeki had always been fond of sitting and doing nothing, as his grandfather had always said.

It struck him as typical that years of well-taught discipline could so easily be reduced to nothing through a simple case of a cold. Maybe if he were made of stronger stuff.

Doumeki grunted. If that were the case he would not even be here, if that were the case he would have made different decisions a long time ago and this situation would never have been. In which case stronger stuff was not what he needed to be, since this life was fine. Doumeki made a point out of not regretting what he decided to do. To him a decision was something made when it was the best time for it. Something like 'the day you do it is-

"The day you do it is your lucky day, is what you're thinking, right?"

Doumeki stopped, waited for his stomach to sink back down and turned his head with his hands still in his hair.

Yuuko was leaning in through the window.

"Good morning!" She waved, and Doumeki had to admit he had to process this for a moment before he could answer. "A bath in the morning looks like an interesting night." Yuuko went on, smirking.

"I slept." Doumeki replied, continuing to work the shampoo into a lather.

"Hooo?" She leered.

"I am not discussing my dreams with a woman." Doumeki said simply. Grabbing the tub of water and pouring it out over his head, shivering slightly at the delicious cold and deciding to repeat the entire process.

"So it was scandalous! How unbecoming of a priest to be."

Doumeki smoothed his hair back and frowned.

"I have no intention of becoming a priest."

"Oh my, the tongue is not steel, yet it cuts." Yuuko sighed, and shrugged, for as far as that was possible, leaning through a window. "So tell me, tell me, what was the dream about? Did I make an appearance?"

Doumeki poured more cold water over his head and held the tub in his lap as he met Yuuko's expectant gaze with an empty one.

"I did!" She clapped her hands and hung over the windowsill even more, her breasts barely contained by her top, he hair hanging down in a straight black curtain and her feet probably in the air on the other side. "Come on, we're both adults, tell me."

"You had nothing to do with that part."

"So cruel."

Yuuko placed her hands against the wall and used them to push herself into the window even more. Her ass and feet were now visible, sticking in the air. A little bit further and Doumeki would have to explain to the rest of the shrine why there was a grown woman in his bath.

"Say, shouldn't you try to cover up?" Yuuko suggested, making a small circle in the air with her index finger.

"Why?" Doumeki said.

"Chivalry?" Yuuko smiled. "You are naked, and I am a woman."

With x-ray vision, Doumeki suspected.

"If you are embarrassed you can leave." He said.

"Hmm, you're no fun. I'm guessing people say 'he is expressionless' right? So it won't be embarrassing to tell me what I said in your dream."

"No." Doumeki admitted.

"Well?"

"What can you offer in return?"

Yuuko blinked.

"Eh?"

"I'm haggling." Doumeki said, getting into the bath.

Yuuko blinked twice more.

The birds stopped singing.

'And the world slowly spun to a hold', Doumeki thought.

Then Yuuko broke out in the widest grin he'd had seen her carry in all these years. Wider even than that time Watanuki had fallen asleep and the manjuu had drawn on his face and she had woken him up too late on purpose so he rushed off without checking himself.

And that had been a pretty big grin.

He'd never heard her laugh that loud either, and she could be a very loud drunk. He supposed he should revel in the fact he had the Witch of Time and Dimensions reduced to hanging limp through his bathroom window, laughing so hard she cried.

"Doumeki you are something else!" Yuuko choked out. "Ah, this is great, this is wonderful. You win! This fever has made you sharper! Oh yes, this is exactly the way I like it."

"In that case, we can do this after my bath."

Yuuko put a finger to her lips and exaggerated the process of thinking something over. After a second or so she cackled again.

"How about, no?"

Doumeki closed his eyes; feeling like his head was full off cottonwool and his mind full of butterflies. His ears were ringing with Yuuko's laughter.

"Oh, be more cheerful." She hiccupped. "You're ill, somebody has to keep an eye on you; you might as well talk to me now that I'm here, or do you want me to get Watanuki instead, huh?"

"Hnn." Doumeki replied, up to his chin in the water.

"You're so stubborn." She laughed, being the one hanging through the bathroom window of a shrine for a full hour.

* * *

"I can't believe it." Watanuki grumbled.

"I'm thirsty." Doumeki remarked.

"You're an idiot."

"I'm thirsty."

"There!" The boy said, slamming the cup down in front of Doumeki so hard the tea sloshed over the edges. The words on the papers started to dissolve, drifting away, forming serpentine patterns of green and black. Watanuki didn't even seem to care about his homework. "You're even more stupid than I thought."

One of these days that boy was going to pop a vein, Doumeki was sure of that.

"Just drink plenty, and sweat it out." Yuuko suggested, taking the tea from Watanuki.

"Plenty!" The manjuu agreed, nursing his cup of green tea. "Alcohol preferred." It remarked.

"Hmpf!" Watanuki snorted, mopping up the mess he'd made and laying each sheet of paper out on the floor to dry.

Doumeki had to admit though his real family wasn't here these people acted enough like the real thing to not notice the difference. They all even had the extra family traits such as nagging, invasion of privacy and bad advice. They all milled about him now that he was ill and fussed over him in their own way.

"Don't be grumpy, Watanuki." Yuuko smiled.

"Who is grumpy?"

They were a surrogate family. A makeshift family because they lacked the real thing, Doumeki had observed some time ago. All of them were just slightly too weird to completely function in society, but they were certainly too social and functional to ever consider something like hikikomori, if that were possible at all in these circumstances. Doumeki knew Watanuki spend a lot of time in Yuuko's shop, and he knew there were more people in there than just those two. People who couldn't leave.

It was almost like some sort of secret fan club. Access only to those too weird to pass for normal.

That thought was slightly unfair. Watanuki had been in the same school with Doumeki for many years now. In fact, they might have even been in the same class when they were young, Doumeki could not remember. Which was the point. He could not remember Watanuki, which meant all in all the boy acted normal enough. Loose from the dancing around in the corridor, of course. Doumeki remembered talk about a kid dancing in the corridor and screeching. It sounded a lot like Watanuki.

"I don't want this!" Watanuki said slowly after the silence.

"It might just be what you need." Yuuko said.

Watanuki sat down with his arms and legs crossed and put on his best scowl.

"To get that woman to leave, you mean?"

Yuuko nodded and stared in her tea. "She has been a good friend for very long…"

Watanuki and Doumeki exchanged a glance. How long 'long' was in Yuuko's world was something neither of them knew. It was probably longer than either of them cared for.

"I remember going out with her and her sisters, those were good times. Sometimes the others joined us; it would be a big party. It was back in the day that there was less constriction on travel. But, today I hardly see any of them anymore. They've grown jaded, sometimes completely stuck physically and mentally into their jobs. I always think it would be terrible to end up like that."

Neither Doumeki nor Watanuki moved. Yuuko continued, more at her own reflection than at them, tracing her finger over the edge of the cup.

"When she came to visit me, I knew it would not be like the olden days. I was glad to see her still. Jaded is bad, but jaded and knowing it, is even worse. I think she realized that and came to me to seek help. And that is why she's still here... She has been good company for a long time."

Yuuko fell silent, and with that everything fell silent. Even the manjuu didn't move.

"Buuuut company gets sour after a long time, right? At least that's what they say!" Yuuko laughed and drank her tea. "You don't know when you're happier, when they come or go. Aah, that hit the spot. Watanuki, another cup."

Watanuki poured out the tea without much comment or hesitation.

"Besides, I think our Watanuki here isn't build for the task." Yuuko teased.

"Of course not!" Watanuki said. "How many times do I have to tell you? I am a human. Human!"

"But quite a pitiful one. Doumeki here is ill because of you, and he doesn't complain."

Doumeki would rather have been left out of this family quarrel since, as Yuuko had pointed out, he was still feeling terrible.

"That's not true!" Watanuki said. "It's his own fault for giving me his luck. What type of person does that anyway, huh? It's stupid."

Doumeki didn't retaliate or answer that. Yuuko frowned a little.

"A person who wants to help you."

Watanuki glowered. "He should have asked for something practical."

"He did, but I could not let him do something that wasn't designed for him. So we had to discuss the price and the exchange. Eventually he figured it out."

"Figured what out?"

"How to help. You should thank him."

"Hnn." Watanuki said and glared.

Doumeki thought Watanuki's pout quite enough. He hadn't done it for the gratitude anyway; he knew he wouldn't get it that way. Actually all he wanted now was to go back to bed. Perhaps eat something. Anything that wouldn't turn his stomach and that wasn't tea.

"Well?" Yuuko said.

Watanuki took a deep breath, took another and opened his mouth.

"I'm hungry." Doumeki interrupted.

"There." Yuuko beamed. "An opportunity presents itself for you to repay him."

Watanuki grumbled something that was probably not very nice before talking to the floor.

"…there is okayu. I can heat it up for you."

"Tamagozake." Doumeki coughed.

"What? You're already ill, you have a fever! A magical fever, how can alcohol help you there?"

"Magic alcohol." Yuuko suggested.

"Tamagozake! Ta-ma-go-za-ke!" the manjuu sang, dancing in circles.

"Better to prevent than to regret." Yuuko added.

"But he is already ill!" Watanuki ground out slowly. "Don't use that as an excuse to drink! Besides you're the one who made him ill!"

"Ta-ma-go-za-ke!" the manjuu squealed.

* * *

Doumeki tripped over nothing.

"Watch where you're going." Watanuki said, slipping an arm around Doumeki's waist and holding him firmer.

Doumeki didn't say anything. Watanuki's hands were cold against his wrist, cold around his waist, even through the cloth.

"You're heavy." Watanuki said.

In the end, they had gotten their tamagozake, and even Watanuki had drunk some, in case Doumeki's luck didn't work, as he claimed. After Yuuko had coaxed the rest of the sake out of Watanuki –and Doumeki's kitchen, more importantly- the morality of the conversation had quickly declined and in the end Yuuko and Mokona had left inebriated and happy respectfully.

Doumeki hadn't drunk anything, apart from the first one.

"You shouldn't drink when you're ill, look at you." Watanuki groaned.

"You complain a lot." Doumeki said.

"You would complain in a situation like this."

"There is nobody to complain to for me. You are always unconscious."

Watanuki shoved Doumeki through the doorway with less love and care than a sick person was supposed to be treated with. Doumeki tripped over nothing again and after a short stumble and some cursing on Watanuki's part they ended on the bed in a heap.

Doumeki flinched when Watanuki put an elbow on his stomach.

"I was never so unlucky that I needed all your luck." Watanuki said suddenly.

"Hmm." Doumeki said when Watanuki had successfully extracted himself.

"How can you be so calm? You're ill because you have no luck. You can't live without luck. You need some, even if it's bad, but to give it all away, that is just stupid."

"Yes."

Doumeki lay back and sighed.

"Sorry. That is-" Watanuki bit his lip and placed a hand on Doumeki's forehead. "What can I do?"

Doumeki considered.

"You can go to work, watch the dog and do your homework."

The boy grimaced. "How about I go and quit?" He offered.

"Will you go to her?"

Watanuki nodded, removing his hand.

"Hey, I might be lucky and manage her to cheer up. If the deal was for you to have your luck back when I don't have to do this anymore, I will not do this anymore. It is so simple even an idiot like you can understand that."

"Hnn." Doumeki commented.

"Just try to... to 'not move' so you won't fall or break anything. I'll be back later."

Doumeki closed his eyes and listened to the rustling of the sheets, felt the bed dip and rise slightly as Watanuki got up and left.

He inhaled deeply. If nothing happened, then the chances of something happening to him were slim. Which was a funny thing to say. Language was not designed for paradoxes like this, Doumeki found. It was hard enough to grasp the concept of 'no luck'; rather his mind would process it to be bad luck. Seeing as that was all he seemed to be experiencing.

Bad luck and bad headaches.

But if Watanuki was lucky enough to get rid of the 'Aurora', goddess of dawn, watcher of a big dog in the sky for reasons Doumeki could not grasp, then he supposed he'd made the right decision after all. Which was not a bad deal for a phone-number.

And a free dream-reading.

Doumeki frowned.

Maybe he should go to business-school.

* * *

Tbcontinued

* * *

Ah, yes, well. Usually I don't leave notes like this at the end of a chapter, but well. I don't know, for me Doumeki on the first page is, well, hot. I had that image in my mind for so long and decided to just do it. I am very pleased with myself about that. I can picture it too… I wish someone would draw that. This story is shounen-ai-like. Which is rare because I am a super perv. Anyways

Please leave a review, even if you hate it. I'd be ever so grateful –unless you hate it, then I'll be petty and scroll past it- and thank you for everybody who has reviewed and beta-ed me so far.

See you next month!


	7. Chapter 7

Summary: Doumeki has decided. Watanuki understands.

Warnings: Higher rating. I am violent and unreasonable. Also, me no graspy English.

* * *

Lucky Charm

* * *

Waking up to unfamiliar surroundings was not entirely uncommon for Doumeki. Not that it had happened that often to him. Most of the places he'd woken up slightly bewildered were around the shrine. Probably because he spent most of the summer lying on his back looking up and waiting for the weather to cool down enough to move. Waking up to an unfamiliar face, now that was something Doumeki hadn't planned on doing until he had at least reached his late-twenties.

Maybe his thirties.

Doumeki had always been accused of having a disillusioned view on his future and that was just the part of the future he revealed to others. The way he saw it was not what people wanted him to see that much was clear. He wouldn't go to university or college; he'd start working after high school and move away from the shrine. By the time he turned mid-thirties he'd be a faceless salary-man in a nameless company. Sure, it was more a bit disenchanted than was expected of a boy his age, but it was more realistic than everyone assuming they became a company president, a famous artist or adored actor.

What Doumeki didn't mention was that he probably would not have a wife or a girlfriend. Judging from the way things had developed in the past years Doumeki felt with an alarming apathy that he would probably become the type to go to love hotels. And when he would wake up in the early morning the ceiling would be new and the guy next to him would be a nameless college student.

Doumeki admitted it was cynical, but chances were that this was what would happen eventually.

That's why he strongly felt it was out of place for him to wake up in pain to an unfamiliar face. Especially when he had his eyes closed and the light still hurt him.

Doumeki sat up and shielded his face with his hands, pushing down onto his eyes trying to dim the light and dull the pain. It took long, very long and it was white. Very white. But it was fading.

He wiped his face on the sleeve of his yukata and peered through the newfound dark.

Now he saw something completely different. He saw fine western features, good cheekbones and lusciously curled hair. She had that type of white skin most girls in school would murder for, Doumeki knew. He'd heard girls discuss this on many occasions, in fact he would probably be able to list at least ten 'safe' ways of bleaching the skin just a tint whiter, to colour the nipples pink and 'cute' instead of brown, to make eyes appear larger like in the comics; how to get rid of pain and cramps every month…

Doumeki was often ignored when he was sitting in a corner of the library, so he knew most gossip and female related problems. The things he missed out on were revealed to him in the secrecy of the back rows of shelves in the library, because he lived at a temple and was very mature so they felt they could talk to him.

That place was also where he turned down confessions.

It was where he gently pushed girls away and where he discussed with them what was considered attractive these days as if his opinion on that wasn't biased.

This woman was attractive. Doumeki did not like it at all.

Though these features were definitely not what he had just seen when he had his eyes closed. A minute before he woke up from dreaming of large dark rimmed eyes reflecting a white turmoil of uncertainty. Waking up to actual white eyes burning into his head through closed eyelids made him realize that Watanuki was starting to resemble that woman. What he saw now was a fraud.

"Good morning Doumeki." She said.

"Hm." Doumeki said, feeling slightly sick at hearing his name.

"I said 'good morning' Doumeki, will you answer me back?"

He swallowed.

"Hmm, you probably do not know how to say my name, do you, Doumeki?"

"…who?"

She moved to his side without moving.

"Imagine all language in a diagram as a wave with infinite scalar. The amplitude of Japanese wouldn't reach the level you need to say my name."

Doumeki said nothing.

She tapped her finger against her lips and smiled. "You're still a child. But you are the one that accompanies Yuuko. You must be proud."

Doumeki blinked slowly.

"Anyway!" She clapped her hands together, which reminded Doumeki of Yuuko's mannerisms a bit too much. "Yuuko just calls me Naya. It's short and cute, like me, and it allows me some individuality from my sisters. Everyone hates their given name, right? So you can call me Naya."

Doumeki sat perfectly still, feeling motion sickness despite his lack of movement. With the way Naya looked at him from every angle he found himself thinking a small prayer to prevent her from saying his name again. It did not agree with him, it did not agree with the universe. She resembled Yuuko in that she acted young a cute, but Yuuko never made Doumeki sick.

"Yuuko and I are of a very different make, Doumeki."

He felt a shiver run up his spine and another tear run down his cheek.

Naya tutted.

"You _are_ a sensitive creature. Look at that. Just the implication of the energy of your family name is enough to upset your entire physical mechanics. Imagine what would happen if you had been as receptive as your grandfather was." She sighed. "Ah, Haruka was truly amazing for a human, don't you agree, Doumeki?"

Doumeki ground his teeth together and strained his throat against his upset stomach.

"Your name suits you. I think you have a good name, Doumeki. You are calm and collected and if a name suits you, it will stay for you, now and later. But at the moment your patience has been worn thin I can see your hostility."

"Hn." Doumeki managed.

"You think I am the source of your problems, Doumeki?"

She had moved in front of him without moving and looked down at him.

"You ought to show more respect, Doumeki."

"My name." He grunted.

"Yes?"

"Don't say it." Doumeki ground out and cringed.

Naya's lips formed a thin line.

"Watanuki showed more courtesy than this."

Though Naya was whispering in his ear, there was no breath on his skin. Doumeki shook his head and pressed the nail of his thumb into his indexfinger.

"Towards him … take your responsibility."

Doumeki averted his eyes. Watanuki had spoken to her on more than one occasion. Doumeki had told him to speak to her, to look into those eyes and to defy that voice. The boy had seemed so reluctant. He had seemed so tired. Why didn't he say it was like this?

"It is not a job you can pass to someone because you feel like it." Doumeki felt as if there wasn't enough air in the room. "Giving something like that to somebody like him is cruel. You should…"

"I should?"

"You should…" Doumeki breathed shallow. "…take responsibility."

"Like you did, Doumeki?"

"Hn."

His grandfather's endurance was something he knew he didn't have. But he did have his stubbornness.

"No matter what it takes, Doumeki?"

Doumeki knew one of the boys from the archery club had anxiety attacks before he had to perform in a match. He would pale around the nose and start hyperventilating. It was easy to calm him down if you knew what to do. Doumeki didn't know how to calm himself down.

"Then I will ask you a question. I will ask if that your choice then, Doumeki? Do you think your place is to defy me now? Do you think it is smart to be a martyr in a situation like this?"

Her voice seemed to reflect off the walls and sounded like frost on a window, it felt like white and blue light and Doumeki couldn't move, drawing in as much air in with every breath as he could.

"Do you think you have the insight to conclude which path would be better, to see what your role is and to act in the best interest of your fate? You think your destiny is to die a slow and painful death to fulfil your role as protector? Would you even consider the possibility…" she put a hand on his arm, "…that it could be _his_ time rather than yours?"

Pins and needles started to travel up from his arm to his shoulder, and down to his fingertips, it reached his neck and meandered down his chest and shoulder blades. Doumeki's breath hitched as he shook his head as firmly as he could.

"You refuse?"

She clenched her hand and dug her nails into his skin.

"For love, for family, for friendship for bio-degradable patterns of energy with a life expectancy so short the universe doesn't even care. Nobility runs in the Doumeki family, But with no luck to speak of it is impossible that you're still alive. If it hadn't been for dear Yuuko, and your typical family stubbornness. Tell me, Doumeki, why are you still alive?"

The pins and needles had spread to his chest and Doumeki's mind finally registered the sensation. He wasn't breathing.

"Well at any rate," Naya said. "You won't be for long now."

Doumeki's blood was pounding in his ears and the image of a western woman with brown curly hair was fading into nothing as white eyes replaced it, burning around him, into him and right through him.

The way she looked was so pleased, so righteous.

"Quiet and calm."

He didn't feel calm.

"You really live up to your name." Naya said and smiled white.

* * *

It was soft and warm and comfortable. Not at all like he imagined death. The fact that it smelled slightly like wet earth and slightly like wet concrete helped a lot in this conclusion. More so the fact it smelled like Watanuki.

"This ceiling." He said, finding his voice worked fine.

It was off-white and the paint was bubbly and coming off in strips. He remembered saying only days ago that it was lucky this was the top floor so that there wouldn't be bits falling down when people upstairs walked around. The reply had been thoughtless and simple while Watanuki had set the table.

"It leaks." Yuuko said. "Really, Watanuki's place has poor living standards."

Doumeki sat up slowly and waited for the feeling of being ill.

He felt…

Fine.

Yuuko nudged him.

"You look well, you feel well. I bet you're dying to know what happened while you were out! Did you have a nice rest? It took you long enough."

"How long?" Doumeki frowned.

Yuuko bared her teeth in a grin.

"I am not telling."She said.

Doumeki levelled his gaze with Yuuko's half lidded leer and felt oddly happy that he was facing her right now.

"Where is Watanuki?"

Yuuko pointed to the ceiling.

Doumeki frowned.

"You're thinking 'what happened' aren't you?" Yuuko leant in and ruffled Doumeki's hair. It was offensive in every possible way, but Doumeki didn't care.

"Yes."

"All I can tell you is that Naya has gone back to her home. You made quite an impression on her." Yuuko paused for dramatic effect. "Actually, it had more to do with Watanuki who contacted me and since you cannot stay at the shop I took you here and had to clean you and heal you and generally rbing you back from the brink of death."

"Wait-" Doumeki started but Yuuko held up her hands.

"I will accept your adoration and many gifts later."

Doumeki frowned. Yuuko looked at him.

"She will come back for you, you know." Doumeki cringed slightly, "You re-established a good name for the Doumeki family in Europe."

"Will you actually tell me what happened?" Doumeki interrupted.

"Hmmm." Yuuko swayed back and forth pretending to be in deep thought. "Like 'how did I get here, why do I feel better, where is Watanuki, why doesn't he have any food or sake in his house, why is there no television or manga? Not even a dirty magazine?'"

Maybe, Doumeki thought.

"How about: no!" Yuuko grinned. "But tell me, tell me. How you will explain your room to your parents and the rest of the shrine?"

Doumeki blinked. If Yuuko smiled like _that_, Doumeki feared he would be sweeping the courtyard until next winter.

"But what-"

"No" Yuuko cut him off.

"Then why-"

"I said no." Yuuko sang.

Doumeki frowned.

"Ooh, I made you angry!" Yuuko clapped her hands.

"Angry!" A voice squealed just before Mokona jumped up and hugged Doumeki's face. "Mokona was very worried about Doumeki." It proclaimed tearfully. "No matter how much I sang, you wouldn't wake up."

"Hmm." Doumeki said, extracting the manjuu and patting it on the head.

"I sang all day."

"Thank you." Doumeki said and felt a bit forlorn, sitting in the middle ofs Watanuki's room.

Yuuko took a long drag from her pipe. "Go talk to the boy, Doumeki. He has been fussing over you ever since you got here. Ease his mind and his heart and when you're done give him a message from me."

* * *

Doumeki noticed how the pyjamas the boy wore were a bit too short for him. They were old and tattered and blue and Watanuki's favourite pair from the looks of all the times it was repaired. They looked good because of the effort that was put into it.

Watanuki looked good as a silhouette against the light from the city. Doumeki walked up to him and sat down with less grace than he normally used.

"Hey."

Watanuki didn't move.

"My name is not 'hey'."

It was as quiet as it could get in this neighbourhood. Doumeki almost felt snobbish, looking down on most activities taking place in the streets below.

Watanuki wasn't looking down.

"Do you see it?" Doumeki asked, following Watanuki's gaze.

"Nothing." Watanuki replied, then shuddered. "But the idea of that thing being there makes it creepy, I mean, I like it now that it isn't there, glaring at me, but then I have the feeling it is still glaring, just now I can't see it. It's like having a stalker."

That was something Doumeki understood.

"It was Yuuko who saved you." Watanuki continued randomly, animating the story with his hands as he used to do. "She just barged into the room, five days ago and carried you all the way over here. How she can carry somebody as big and heavy like you I don't know. You eat as much as ten people do. You were burned and pale and very cold. She looked very scary then, really scary."

Doumeki could picture that.

"I threw away your yukata." Watanuki said. "It was burned and-"

It took Watanuki some time to work up the courage probably, but he finally muttered.

"I was completely powerless."

Doumeki kept his gaze on the horizon.

"You're only human." He said.

"That is not an excuse!" Watanuki snapped.

"Then what happened?"

Watanuki growled. "It is a long story and it is stupid and Yuuko won't give me any details as usual."

"Hmm." Doumeki agreed.

"What about you?" Watanuki fished, but Doumeki shook his head. The boy put on his scowl.

"It's over and done with." Doumeki said.

"What, just like that?"

"You want to ask that woman?"

"Guh." Watanuki said. "Great. Just like that, the universe is ending, and then just like that, it's all over and all we have is Yuuko's word that everything is fine. That makes me feel a lot better. What could possibly be worse?"

Doumeki felt a smirk tug on his lips. "Well, Yuuko asked me to tell you; 'come down and cook food'."

"What!?"

"She said: 'once you boys are done up there'." Doumeki added.

"Ack, you make it sound so vukgar."

"I am delivering a message." Doumeki replied.

"You could so it with more tact."

"Well we are on a rooftop, and it is night, and we are looking at the sky…"

Watanuki jumped up and crossed his arms in front of his chest, blush spreading on his cheeks. "No! Shut up!"

"There is even a full moon." Doumeki pointed.

"No!"

"Well I am hungry." Doumeki remarked, putting his hands over his ears to kill the impact of Watanuki's indignant cries as he followed the boy downstairs.

The next day everything seemed back to normal. Two weeks later Watanuki moved to another apartment. Two months later Doumeki was finally relieved from courtyard-sweeping duties.

* * *

FIN

* * *

Thank you very much for reading this all the way to the end. There will be a short omake.

Please let me know what you think, it is thanks to your reviews that I managed to finish this story.

Thank you for your support


	8. Chapter 8

Apparently the last chapter of the story was somewhat ill received. This might be the reason why I forgot to post the omake, but I found it on my computer now. So here y'all are.

* * *

Omikuji

* * *

-

Good luck or bad was all the same in the end. It was luck, and though Doumeki didn't think he felt that bad when he didn't have any, but he knew perfectly well that he'd been dying and should by all accounts be dead, and that it had felt terrible, and that misery was easily forgotten by people.

There were multiple types of luck, as many different types as there were people, Yuuko had once said. Doumeki had grown up believing there were only twelve types of luck, and usually he'd drifted between various sizes of blessing. Just because he lived at a shrine didn't mean he didn't have to spend money on fortune telling, but at least none of the papers hanging from the tree were his.

The last three times Doumeki had managed to drag himself outside it had been to see if 'no luck' would not maybe mean 'bad luck' after all. In all three situations something had happened. The first time no matter how hard the shrine maiden shook, no paper would come out of the box. They couldn't give him a fortune after opening the box of course. The second time a paper had come out but it had rolled on over the counter and on the floor and when Doumeki had tried to grab it the paper rolled into the mud and became useless. He couldn't get a second one, because the box had been tampered with once more.

The whole situation had been 'very unlucky' as one of the shrine maidens had said.

The third time he'd tried had been after his bath, with Yuuko on his heels. The third time Yuuko had watched with amusement how after a lot of struggling Doumeki finally had one of the papers in his hand and opened it.

The moment he unrolled it he cut his finger. It didn't even hit the ground before the wind swept it up. Yuuko had laughed.

She said that as long as there was no luck Doumeki would not be able to read his fortune, because there was no fortune for him to read. But she commended Doumeki on getting as far as holding the paper in his hand before it 'bit him'.

Doumeki's mind still took this as 'very horrifically bad luck', as the tokens in the shrine would say. Or should say. It was what the tokens in the shrine _would have said_.

Ever since he had his fate and future pushed back into him forcefully Doumeki hadn't felt like testing his twelve different types of luck yet. And then there was Watanuki.

Then there was Watanuki.

That boy should be a thirteenth category of luck altogether, Doumeki thought as he knocked on the door of the doctor's office.

"What did you do?" he asked immediately as he pulled the curtain aside.

Watanuki didn't remove the arm from his eyes. "I fell."

"He tripped." Himawari said concerned. "I didn't even see on what."

"Idiots don't need much." Doumeki remarked.

"Bastard." Watanuki ground out and removed his arm, revealing what would pretty soon be a very bruised cheek. The dark red and purple contrasted sharply with the boy's skin tone. But Watanuki looked well. The dark rims under his eyes were almost gone, losing the certain charm it created, but adding a new 'alive' and 'healthy boy my age' look. There was no white left, just that unnatural colour and that endless deep swirl of emotions. Doumeki caught himself staring the moment Himawari started talking.

"I have to go back to class." Himawari said smiling. "Thank you for looking after him, Doumeki, that is very kind of you."

Doumeki nodded.

"He doesn't have to!" Watanuki sneered after she'd left and fell back on the bed. "You can go now." He repeated to Doumeki.

Doumeki leant against the walls and crossed his arms. It was quite a pitiful sight to see really, Watanuki on the hospital bed. How can one boy get himself into that much trouble? It were times like these when he knew for sure the boy was in no danger –no immediate danger- that he considered these things. Watanuki had fallen during gym-class obviously, and probably tripped over nothing in an attempt to look at Himawari and participate in the sport of the day. Instead of having normal reflexes the boy had probably flailed his arms and landed flat on his face. Pitiful, really, that boy's luck in life.

"Walk home with me today." Doumeki said.

"What?" Watanuki turned on his side.

"After practise."

"Why?"

The school bell rang so Doumeki pushed off and made for the door.

"Ah! Fine don't speak, be high and mighty, see if I care!" Watanuki yelled after him. He seemed energetic enough today despite the fall. It was hard to get Watanuki down after all.

* * *

Doumeki heard a noise, he was sure of it. Getting our from under the water he listened again.

"Well?" he heard.

"Towel." He muttered, waving his hand in the general direction of where he left it.

"I am not your servant." Watanuki grumbled.

"Towel." Doumeki said again, hands scrambling rudely up Watanuki's chest until he got the towel in his face.

"Well?" Watanuki asked. "Why do you need me?"

"I want you to come to the shrine with me." Doumeki said, swung the towel over his shoulder and made his way to the clubhouse. Watanuki followed him, sulking along the way, and when Doumeki held open the door, stood fast outside muttering things like 'no interest in your body' and 'perverted'. But the waiting time was short and the walk back was short. There was almost no discussion and only two occasions where Doumeki had to prevent the boy from walking into somebody else.

It was busy at the shrine, because of the festival last week, and there were chimes and charms everywhere. The place was filled with middle-schoolers as well, at this time of day. Doumeki ignored everything and went straight to the fortune.

"Wait here." He said, handing over the money to a girl that had only started a little while ago and was as lovestruck with him as all the girls were in the beginning. She smiled long and hard at him and made sure to brush his fingers when she took it from him.

"Fortune telling? You want me to" Watanuki asked, genuinely surprised. "Wait- fortune telling? Are you insane?"

Doumeki frowned.

"I don't want to know how horrifically bad my luck is, and I especially do not need to know how blessed you are." He paused for a moment and added. "I do not appreciate the topic of luck."

"It's not for you." Doumeki said as he took the little paper that came from the box without incident.

Watanuki blinked and remained quiet as Doumeki unrolled it and read what it said.

"So, now what?"

"Nothing." Doumeki said. "You can go."

"That is what you dragged me here for? So you can have your fun, which you can have at any time of the day, since you live here!?" Watanuki yelled.

"You can make me tea." He offered.

"Like hell I will!" Watanuki huffed.

"You can make me dinner."

"How does your mind work? Honestly!"

"It's your day off, isn't it?" Doumeki asked.

"No!" Watanuki lied.

Doumeki ignored him and went inside, knowing the boy would follow eventually. Watanuki knew where he would be and knew where the kitchen was and despite his protests did not seem to mind making food. In fact, Yuuko had gone as far to tell Doumeki that Watanuki would bake everything double, so he could bring some to school.

When he didn't hear the boy following him directly, he assumed Watanuki went to get his fortune after all. He got rid of his uniform and put on something more comfortable and fitting. When he heard the boy stomping around the kitchen sometime later, he knew the fortune had been 'bad luck' for the boy.

It was a comforting thought.

* * *

FIN

* * *

-

There we are. All done. Feel free to send me a message and thank you for your support all the way through, guys.


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